A former IRS official said the agency was concerned about whether some Affordable Care Act payments were legal, according to The Hill.
Here are five things to know:
1. The former official, David Fisher, served as IRS' chief risk officer. Mr. Fisher said the IRS had concerns over whether the ACA had the authority to grant payers certain payments without Congress appropriation.
2. Following a White House meeting, many senior IRS officials concluded the payments were legal, leading the Obama administration to dole out the payments. Mr. Fisher said the meeting occurred on Jan. 3, 2014, and said IRS officials were prohibited from keeping notes and keeping memo copies. Mr. Fisher referred to the meeting as "a little unusual."
3. Although many officials' worries faded following the meeting, Mr. Fisher's qualms persisted and he had a meeting with Commissioner John Koskinen to address the payments' legality. In the meeting, Mr. Koskinen cited a memo, which Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and the Justice Department approved, which found the payments were appropriate.
4. Mr. Fisher said the ACA does not detail any permanent appropriation for its cost-sharing reduction payments, which will cost an estimated $130 billion over the next decade.
5. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer of the District ruled various ACA payments have been funded illegally. The judge ruled President Obama went above his authority by unilaterally funding an ACA provision that gave billions of dollars of subsidies to health insurance companies. Her decision backed the Republican House, which challenged the ACA for spending more than $175 billion on subsidies.
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