AUGUSTA (AP) – Gov. John Baldacci on Wednesday said he was pleased with a decision by state insurance regulators upholding fees insurers must pay to fund the Dirigo Health insurance program.

“This is a great day for Dirigo but I recognize the fight now moves to the courts,” Baldacci said after Insurance Superintendent Alessandro Iuppa turned down a request by health insurers for a stay on “savings offset” payments that are key to funding for the fledgling universal health insurance system.

The Maine Association of Health Plans had asked the superintendent to prohibit the assessment of the payments, which must be made by insurers.

The association earlier this week filed a lawsuit that challenges the superintendent’s ruling last month leading to the fees, which will add up to nearly $44 million.

Baldacci said the insurance superintendent’s decision rejecting the stay on fees reaffirms that Dirigo Health “has brought real savings to the health care system.”

A message left with the Maine Association of Health Plans was not immediately returned.