Circuits Split on Availability of ACA Exchange Subsidies

American Legislator ^ | 7-22-14 | Sean Riley

[ThethoughtsofGreg]

This morning, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit invalidated a 2012 IRS rule allowing tax subsidies in federal insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act. Within hours, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a contrary ruling in a similar, but separate, case, allowing exchange subsidies in both state-based and federal exchanges. Though both decisions are still subject to further review and will have no immediate impact, such “circuit splits” are often considered strong evidence that a case will ultimately end up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

As has been covered previously in these and related cases, and before the ALEC HHS Task Force, at issue is whether the ACA’s subsidies for individuals to buy health insurance are available in states that declined to establish health insurance exchanges. Under the ACA, states were given the option to create state-based exchanges or default to a federal exchange—36 states chose to default, while just 14 currently operate their own (See map below).

[vbmoneyspender]

I guarantee you those Obama judges in the 4th Circuit had their opinion already written and ready to publish and were just waiting for the DC Circuit to issue their opinion before the 4th Circuit published theirs.

[Intolerant in NJ]

...allowing exchange subsidies in both state-based and federal exchanges...ah yes, because the law was imprecise enough that the IRS should be allowed to make a final determination - or as someone in the White House later claimed, the confusion was simply because of an imprecise draft of the bill - so what's next - well, we know the Constitution says that congress shall make no law abridgingthe right to free speech, but that's just an imprecise wording of what they meant to say, and we think the president should have the power to clear up any ambiguity?....