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Federal auditors ruled on Thursday that the Obama administration had violated the law by paying health insurance companies more than allowed under the Affordable Care Act in an effort to hold down insurance premiums. Some of the money was supposed to be deposited in the Treasury, said auditors from the Government Accountability Office. (Pear, 9/29)

The 2010 health law required federal health officials to collect fees from unions, employers and insurance companies for a program called ‘reinsurance,’ to reimburse health plans that sustained a heavier burden of medical claims during the first few years of the law’s life. A portion of those fees was also set to go to the Treasury, the Government Accountability Office said, and following a shortfall in expected collections, HHS opted instead to prioritize payments to insurers. (Radnofsky, 9/29)

The opinion from the Government Accountability Office is a setback for the White House and bolsters Republican complaints that administration officials bent the law as problems arose carrying out its complex provisions. The finding may complicate efforts to stabilize premiums in the law's insurance marketplaces, where about 11 million people get coverage. The Obama administration said it "strongly disagrees" with the GAO's conclusion. (9/29)

Republicans, who asked the GAO investigate the issue, hailed the GAO's finding as vindication for their longstanding claims that the Obama administration is wrongly prioritizing insurers over taxpayers. “This new opinion from the government’s top watchdog confirms that the Obama administration is not above the law,” said Republican members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in a statement. "The administration needs to put an end to the Great Obamacare Heist immediately.” (Demko, 9/29)

A nonpartisan government watchdog said Thursday that the Obama administration is violating the law by directing funds in an ObamaCare program to insurers instead of to the U.S. Treasury. Republicans, who had argued that the payments were illegal, hailed the Government Accountability Office (GAO) opinion. At issue is ObamaCare’s so-called reinsurance program, which is designed to stabilize the market and protect against premium hikes in the early years of the healthcare law. (Sullivan, 9/29)

The Obama administration is illegally refusing to make payments to the U.S. Treasury and instead giving funds collected under Obamacare to insurers, according to a new report from an independent government watchdog. The administration disagrees with the findings. The funds in question were collected as part of Obamacare’s reinsurance program, one of three programs included in the health care law to reduce risk for insurers participating on exchanges. Siding with Republicans who have been investigating the program, the Government Accountability Office said Thursday that the law mandates that some of the money collected must be deposited into federal coffers. (Owens, 9/29)

The Obama administration is maneuvering to pay health insurers billions of dollars the government owes under the Affordable Care Act, through a move that could circumvent Congress and help shore up the president’s signature legislative achievement before he leaves office. Justice Department officials have privately told several health plans suing over the unpaid money that they are eager to negotiate a broad settlement, which could end up offering payments to about 175 health plans selling coverage on ACA marketplaces, according to insurance executives and lawyers familiar with the talks. (Goldstein, 9/29)