U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria denied 18 states' request to prohibit the Trump administration from ending cost-sharing subsidies, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Here are five key points:
1. The ACA created the subsidies to expand coverage to low-income Americans on the exchanges by paying insurers for covering this cohort. The Congressional Budget Office said these payments totaled an estimated $7 billion this year.
2. Mr. Chhabria said states have had months to prepare for the end of these subsidies and wrote, "The truth is that most state regulators have devised responses that give millions of lower income people better health coverage options than they would otherwise have had."
3. The states argued the Trump administration's decision to discontinue the payments is unlawful. However, Mr. Chhabria said although this case is in its initial stages, the Trump administration has the "stronger legal argument."
4. If officials stopped the payments, consumers would receive higher tax credits, meaning stopping the payments would have a minimal immediate impact. Mr. Chhabria said low-income Americans would benefit from the decision to eliminate the subsidies.
5. The following states filed the lawsuit: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington as well as the District of Columbia.