◼ link - CNBC
In a potentially crippling blow to Obamacare, a top federal appeals court Tuesday said that billions of dollars worth of government subsidies that helped nearly 5 million people buy insurance on HealthCare.gov are illegal.
A judicial panel in a 2-1 ruling said such subsidies can be granted only to those people who bought insurance in an Obamacare exchange run by an individual state or the District of Columbia — not on the federally run exchange HealthCare.gov....
The Obama Administration is certain to seek a reversal of the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which does not immediately have the effect of law.
The ruling endorsed a controversial interpretation of the Affordable Care Act that argues that the HealthCare.gov subsidies are illegal because ACA does not explicitly empower a federal exchange to offer subsidized coverage, as it does in the case of state-created exchanges. Subsidies for more than 2 million people who bought coverage on state exchanges would not be affected by Tuesday's ruling if it is upheld.
MORE OBAMACARE CONFUSION:
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'Potentially crippling blow'...
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Appeals court strikes major blow to Obamacare - Chicago Sun Times, by Staff
A federal appeals court has struck a major blow to Obamacare, ruling that premium subsidies are invalid in more than two dozen states. The Hill reports the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Halbig v. Burwell that the IRS cannot distribute premium subsidies in the federal Affordable Care Act exchanges, which means consumers have to bear the full cost of insurance. The government is expected to appeal the 2-1 ruling to the full D.C. Circuit, but either way, the case appears to be headed to the Supreme Court....
