DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A judge has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to force Iowa’s public universities to pay into a fund that subsidizes insurance for Iowans with health risks. Judge Dennis Stovall says the Iowa Individual Health Benefit Reinsurance Association doesn’t have the authority to sue. The association helps Iowans with medical conditions obtain affordable coverage, and is funded by assessments charged to insurers and self-insured health plans.

Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa paid assessments until 2010. The University of Iowa became self-insured that year and, the association argues, required to pay. But all three refused to pay then, with their governing board arguing they weren’t covered by the law.

The lawsuit sought to collect more than $1.5 million, warning that higher costs for patients and providers would otherwise result.