Obama administration may use obscure fund to pay billions to (I.E. BAIL OUT) ACA insurers

The administration's efforts reflect the partisan thorns that still surround the sprawling law a half-dozen years after its passage. The payouts that officials want to salvage were part of an ACA strategy to help the marketplaces flourish early on. But Republican opponents in Congress branded them an insurance industry "bailout" and restricted the use of HHS funds.

A settlement probably would rely on Treasury's Judgment Fund, a 1950s creation that is allowed as much money as it needs to satisfy valid claims against the government. The fund's website shows that it has been used for a few hundred claims against HHS in the past decade. Taken together, they amounted to about $18 million -- a fraction of what the insurers are owed.

In the administration's waning months, officials are continuing their upbeat portrayal of all aspects of the law. Behind the scenes, they think that making these payments to insurers -- $2.5 billion for 2014 and an as-yet-undisclosed sum for 2015 -- is crucial to the exchanges' well-being.