A judge on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims this week declined arequest from the U.S. Justice Department to pause a health insurer’s suit that seeks more than $208million in payments from a fund created by the Affordable Care Act.

Related: Insurers brace for ACAcollapse

The government urged the court to freeze Moda Health Plan Inc.’scase to allow a federal appeals court to rule in a suit thatpresents similar issues.

In that case, Land of Lincoln Mutual Health InsuranceCo. is fighting in the U.S. Court of Appeals for theFederal Circuit to revive its claim that the fund, the ACArisk-corridors program, owes the nonprofit $75 million.

The Land of Lincoln and Moda Health cases are among several thatcontend the government is on the hook for hundreds of millions ofdollars to insurers through the ACA risk-corridors program.

The program was supposed to help minimize the financial risk ofparticipation in the new ACA health care exchanges. The health carelaw calls for risk-corridors program managers to make payments tostruggling insurers with funds received from profitable exchangeplan issuers.

Judge Thomas Wheeler of the Federal Claims Court ruled for ModaHealth on Monday and refused to temporarily stay proceedings. Thegovernment, Wheeler said, failed to prove a “pressing need” totemporarily stop the action. Wheeler acknowledged Land of Lincoln’spending appeal but said the Federal Circuit will benefit fromhaving more than one ruling in the lower court.

“[O]ne of the main functions of an appellate court is toconsider the various viewpoints of the lower courts,” Wheeler wrote in his ruling. “It logicallyfollows that lower courts must be free to consider similar factsand reach independent conclusions—otherwise, there would be no needfor an appellate court to harmonize the law within a circuit.”

In Land of Lincoln’s case, Charles Lettow, a Federal Claimsjudge, dismissed the nonprofit’s case this month. Lettow concludedthat the health care exchange’s issuer-agreements, which describehow the ACA risk-corridor payments work, are not, in fact, bindingcontracts.

Moda Health, represented by Covington & Burling, sued theU.S. government in June. The complaint said the insurer, which providedcoverage in the Pacific Northwest, is owed more than $208 millionfor the 2014 and 2015 coverage years. A Moda Health executive this month said in adeclaration that the government’s alleged payment breach caused theinsurer to withdraw from health markets in California, Washingtonstate and Alaska.

“Moda would not have needed to take these steps if it had beentimely paid the entirety of the 2014 and 2015 risk corridorpayments,” James Francesconi, vice president of public policy forModa Health. “Until the government fulfills its risk corridorobligations, Moda cannot expand its operations or otherwise conductbusiness as in the past and as planned.”

Other Federal Claims judges are overseeing related suits thatdemand risk-corridor payments.

Judge Margaret Sweeney will hear argument on Dec. 8in Health Republic Insurance v.United States. Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivanrepresents the New Jersey-based health insurance provider.

Reed Smith represents First Priority Life Insurance Co. in itslawsuit over risk-corridor payments. No argument date is set. Thefirm also represents Blue Cross & Blue Shield of North Carolinain its suit in the Federal Claims court.