Sorry, insurers — House isn't dropping the Obamacare subsidies lawsuit

House Speaker Paul Ryan says the House Republican lawsuit against Obamacare's cost-sharing reduction subsidies will go forward, but that the Trump administration can use its "discretion" to keep paying the subsidies until the lawsuit is resolved. "We don't want to drop the lawsuit because we believe in the separation of powers," Ryan told reporters this morning at his weekly press briefing.

Why it matters: Insurers say they need those payments — which cover subsidies for low-income Obamacare customers — to stay in the marketplaces for next year. Ryan said that's up to the Trump administration: "While the lawsuit is being litigated, then the administration funds these benefits. That's how they've been doing it, and I don't see any change in that."

When might that change? Ryan said it could take "months." The Trump administration still has to decide whether to stop fighting the lawsuit. The ideal way to address the payments, Ryan said, is "to repeal and replace Obamacare, and have that transition occur where these markets are stabilized." And where is that? Nowhere, per Jonathan Swan.