The U.S. House and U.S. Department of Health & HumanServices on Monday asked a federal appeals court to freeze foranother 90 days a dispute over billions of dollars in insurance industry subsidies under theAffordable Care Act, a delay that could furtherunnerve the health insurance markets.

The lawfulness of the subsidies — which the government pays to healthinsurers as part of a cost-sharing program to reduce premiums andother out-of-pocket expenses for low-income consumers — is thecenterpiece of a case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for theD.C. Circuit. An estimated 6 million consumers participate in thecost-sharing program.

The D.C. Circuit in December put the case on hold to allow theU.S. House of Representatives, which sued over the propriety of thesubsidies, and the incoming Trump administration to decide whetherand how to resolve the dispute. The court set a May 22 deadline forthe lawyers to advise the panel judges on the next steps in thelitigation.