House Republicans do not have the authority to sue the Obama administration over how Obamacare is funded, House Democratic leadership said in a court filing Monday.
The chamber’s Democratic leadership filed a friend of the court brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit contesting the House lawsuit over the law’s cost-sharing reduction payments. A lower court sided with House Republicans in May that the administration overstepped its authority with the payments.
The White House is appealing the ruling, and House Democrats argue in their brief that the ruling creates a dangerous precedent.
“It would not only be contrary to established Supreme Court precedent for the courts to wade into inter-branch disputes such as this one, but also unnecessary and destabilizing to the separation of powers among the three branches,” Democrats said.
The lawsuit focuses on the cost-sharing reduction payments for Obamacare, which are payments to insurers to pay down deductibles and co-pays for marketplace enrollees who earn between 100-250 percent above the federal poverty level.
About 5 million exchange enrollees bought plans with cost-sharing subsidies as of mid-2015, according to federal data.
When the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010, it ensured that the administration didn’t have to get approval every year for appropriating money for the law’s subsidies to pay down the cost of healthcare premiums. But the administration argues that the same goes for the law’s cost-sharing payments.
If the GOP’s lawsuit succeeds, it would mean Congress would have to approve the funding for the cost-sharing payments every year.
Republicans have argued that the White House unlawfully bypassed Congress. It applauded a May ruling in its favor by saying it offers a check on President Obama’s executive overreach.