GAO says Obama administration can't bail out insurers without Congress

The Washington Examiner reports:

The Department of Health and Human Services cannot legally bail out the insurance industry for excessive losses through President Obama's health care law unless the U.S. Congress approves language allowing the administration to do so, according to a legal opinion released on Tuesday by the Government Accountability Office.

The ruling could end up provoking a showdown between the White House and Congressional Republicans over Obamacare that has the potential to affect health insurance premiums.

At issue is the "risk corridors" program, which aims to stabilize the insurance market on the new health insurance exchanges during the early years of Obamacare. Because the law requires insurers to offer coverage to those with pre-existing conditions and limits how much insurers can charge older and sicker patients, insurers who join the exchanges risk getting stuck with a disproportionate number of older and sicker beneficiaries, translating into losses that could discourage companies from participating.

The struggles of fascism.