Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/19pdf/18-1023_m64o.pdf
Page Number: 13.0

Cite as:  590 U. S. ____ (2020) 

9 

Opinion of the Court 

A majority of the Federal Circuit declined to revisit the 
court’s decision en banc, 908 F. 3d 738 (2018) (per curiam);
see  also  id.,  at  740  (Newman,  J.,  dissenting);  id.,  at  741 
(Wallach,  J.,  dissenting),  and  we  granted  certiorari,  588 
U. S. ___ (2019).

These cases present three questions: First, did §1342 of 
the  Affordable  Care  Act  obligate  the  Government  to  pay 
participating  insurers  the  full  amount  calculated  by  that
statute?  Second,  did  the  obligation  survive  Congress’  ap-
propriations  riders?  And  third,  may  petitioners  sue  the 
Government under the Tucker Act to recover on that obli-
gation?  Because our answer to each is yes, we reverse. 

II 
The Risk Corridors statute created a Government obliga-
tion  to  pay  insurers  the  full  amount  set  out  in  §1342’s
formula. 

A 
An “obligation” is a “definite commitment that creates a
legal liability of the government for the payment of goods 
and  services  ordered  or  received,  or  a  legal  duty  . . .  that 
could mature into a legal liability by virtue of actions on the 
part  of  the  other  party  beyond  the  control  of  the  United 
States.”  GAO,  A  Glossary  of  Terms  Used  in  the  Federal 
Budget  Process  70  (GAO–05–734SP,  2005).  The  Govern-
ment may incur an obligation by contract or by statute.  See 
ibid. 

Incurring an obligation, of course, is different from pay-
ing one.  After all, the Constitution’s Appropriations Clause 
provides that “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury,
but  in  Consequence  of  Appropriations  made  by  Law.” 
Art. I, §9, cl. 7; see also GAO, Principles of Federal Appro-
priations  Law  2–3  (4th  ed.  2016)  (hereinafter  GAO 
Redbook) (“[T]he authority to incur obligations by itself is
not  sufficient  to  authorize  payments  from  the  Treasury”).