Electrical Welfare Trust Fund v. United States

WILKINSON, Circuit Judge:

The Electrical Welfare Trust Fund ("the Fund") sued under the Tax Refund Statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1346 (a)(1) (2012), to recover more than $1 million paid to the Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") as part of the Transitional Reinsurance Program of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. The district court dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, holding that because the payment was not a tax, exclusive jurisdiction for a suit for repayment lies with the Court of Federal Claims. The Fund challenges that ruling on appeal, and we now…