A U.S. judge on Thursday handed a victory to congressional Republicans who challenged the implementation of a provision of President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law involving reimbursements from the government to private health insurers.
U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer, based in Washington, ruled that the Obama administration cannot spend funds Congress did not appropriate in reimbursing insurance companies for reductions they are required to make under the law to customers' out-of-pocket medical payments.
Collyer said the administration has spent "billions of dollars" on such reimbursements since January 2014.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the Republican-led House of Representatives, which brought the case, ultimately would lose.
"This suit represents the first time in our nation's history that Congress has been permitted to sue the executive branch over a disagreement about how to interpret a statute," Earnest told a briefing.
"It's unfortunate that Republicans have resorted to a taxpayer-funded lawsuit to re-fight a political fight that they keep losing," Earnest added. "They've been losing this fight for six years, and they'll lose it again."
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