Federal appeals courts issue conflicting rulings on Obamacare Los Angeles Times

The legal battle over President Obama's healthcare law ramped up again Tuesday, as two federal appeals courts handed down conflicting rulings on whether the government can continue to pay subsidies nationwide to millions of low- and middle-income people to help them with the cost of insurance.

The split decisions on a central element of the law increase the chances that the Supreme Court will take up another challenge to the Affordable Care Act as early as the coming year.

The legal battle gives Obamacare's opponents another shot at trying to kill the law in the high court, a goal they fell one vote short of in 2012. In that case, four justices voted to strike down the entire legislation as unconstitutional. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. joined the four liberal justices to uphold the core of the law.

White House says it's confident in legal basis for Affordable Care Act
The White House reiterated its support for the legality of the Affordable Care Act after an appeals court ruling that some say could derail the law's success.
This time, the outcome at the high court would turn on whether at least one of the five conservative justices agreed to uphold Congress' broad goal of providing all Americans with insurance they can afford.

Soon after the Affordable Care Act won final approval in 2010, conservative groups pointed out an anomaly in its wording. The problem involved a key section of the law, which called for creating insurance marketplaces, or "exchanges," where buyers could shop for coverage. People with low or middle incomes — up to $94,200 for a family of four — are offered tax credits to help pay for the insurance.

These exchanges were to be run by states. But if states refused the job, Congress authorized federal officials to "operate such exchange within the state" and carry out all the required duties. However, in another part of the law, Congress said tax credits would be offered for insurance purchased through an "exchange established by the state."

Conservative legal groups have argued ever since that the wording "exchange established by the state" does not include the federal exchange. That reading of the law would block insurance subsidies in two-thirds of the nation.

Currently only 14 states, including California, run their own exchanges. In 36 states, including Texas, Florida and Illinois, the exchange is run by the federal government. Some states that ran their own exchanges this year but had trouble have announced plans to use the federal exchange for the open enrollment season that begins in November.

About 5 million Americans bought subsidized policies through the federal exchange this year, often reducing their costs by hundreds of dollars a month, healthcare experts say.

Read the rest at the link above. If the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit takes it up the 3 judge panel decision is moot.