The Trump administration and US House of Representatives Republicans on Monday asked a federal court for more time to decide how to proceed on the cost–sharing subsidies paid to health insurers that play a vital role in the Obamacare healthcare law.

In a joint filing submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the administration and Republican lawmakers who had previously challenged the payments asked for a second three–month extension.

The two sides said they were discussing measures that would no longer require a judicial decision, including new healthcare legislation. The Republican–led Congress is working on legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare.

The legal case, which dates back to the Obama administration, was filed by the Republican–led House against the federal government in an effort to cut off subsidy payments for the individual plans created by the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

A lower court had ruled in favor of the lawmakers, saying that Congress must appropriate the money for these subsidies and that the government could not simply pay for them in the way it does now.

Insurers and medical groups which have pressed the administration to continue funding the payments, which amount to about $7 billion this year and help low–income consumers pay for out–of–pocket medical costs, reiterated their view on Monday after the court filing.

"Uncertainty is destabilizing the market and leading health plans to raise their rates for 2018 to account for the political risk brought on by Congress and the Administration through a protracted debate over the fate of these reimbursements," Margaret Murray, chief executive of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans, said in a statement.

Legislation from the House proposes continuing the payments through 2019, but President Donald Trump has said that he can stop paying the subsidies at any time. That has insurers concerned that the monthly government payments could end and leave them exposed financially.

Several insurers, including Aetna Inc and Humana Inc, have already exited the Obamacare marketplace for 2018, citing a pool of patients who are sicker than expected and therefore more expensive.

On Thursday, more than a dozen Democratic state attorneys general sought to intervene in the case due to concerns that the administration is seeking to sabotage the Affordable Care Act.

Democratic attorneys general and Obamacare proponents have said that the threats to withhold the payments have already wreaked havoc in the marketplaces. The administration and House Republicans said they will respond separately to that request.

—Lawrence Hurley and Yasmeen Abutaleb