Indiana is the latest state to join a lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act's Health Insurance Providers Free, according to Legal Newsline.com.
Here are four notes:
1. In 2014, Indiana paid $17.4 million for the Health Insurance Provider Fee, and the state expects to pay more in coming years.
2. States participating in the suit are imploring the federal court to invalidate the fee.
3. The lawsuit does not impact Americans obtaining coverage under the ACA nor employers who are required to provide healthcare under the act.
4. "We contend it is unconstitutional under intergovernmental tax immunity for the federal government to impose a tax upon a state government, and that's what this fee does," Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller said. "States now have no choice but to pay this tax or risk the loss of their essential federal Medicaid funding that underpins patient coverage for our neediest citizens; so the only avenue for questioning the legality of this is to bring the question to the federal court and let the court decide."
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