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COLUMBUS -- A federal appeals court has rejected a lawsuit by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine that challenged what DeWine called an unconstitutional health care tax levied on state and local governments.
The 2015 lawsuit argued there was no precedent allowing the collection of $6.25 million the previous year from government entities and nothing in the federal health care law that allowed such a tax.
At issue is a provision in the law permitting tax assessments against health insurance companies and certain employers who offer self-insured group health plans to help keep premiums affordable.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Friday the tax was constitutional. A DeWine spokeswoman said the decision was being reviewed.
While Columbiana County was not among government agencies that were a party to the lawsuit, commissioners said before they could benefit. If the state wins, state and local governments that pay Obamacare's "reinsurance fee" would be entitled to reimbursement. In 2015, when the lawsuit was filed, commissioners paid a reinsurance fee of $46,000, or $63 for every employee and their dependent covered by the county's insurance plan.