The state of Kansas is set to receive $142 million collected as part of an Obamacare miscue, known as the Health Insurance Provider Fee.
In a release from Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office, he says the federal government illegally collected the fee over the period of several years. Schmidt and the state attorneys general from Texas, Indiana, Louisiana, Nebraska and Wisconsin sued the federal government arguing the HIP fee – one of the numerous taxes and fees imposed by the Affordable Care Act was being illegally collected from their state treasuries. On Tuesday, a federal court in Texas ruled Kansas is due $142 million. In total, the order by Federal District Judge Reed O’Connor requires that more than $839 million be returned to the six states that filed the suit.
Gov. Jeff Colyer issued a statement after the ruling, calling it “just another example of the monumental failure of Obamacare and the expensive toll it has taken on our state.”
This fee has been illegally collected for far too long, and I am grateful to @KSAGOffice for going to bat for Kansas and ensuring that a legal remedy was made for returning millions of dollars that should have never been taken from taxpayers in the first place. #ksleg pic.twitter.com/UML405vcVg
— Governor Jeff Colyer (@GovJeffColyer) August 22, 2018
How soon the state actually sees any reimbursement is unknown. Schmidt says that an appeal is likely, but remains confident in the strength of the case should it be appealed.
