D.C. Appeals Court Strikes Obamacare Subsidies

Two federal appeals courts issued contradictory rulings on Obamacare subsidies within a few hours Tuesday, one delivering a victory and the other a major blow to the White House in a chaotic legal fight that will determine whether millions of Americans can get subsidized coverage through HealthCare.gov.

First, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in a 2-1 decision said the insurance subsidies can’t be awarded through the 36 federal-run exchanges, that they can only flow through the state-run markets. Hours later, the Fourth Circuit court ruled 3-0 that people can draw on the subsidies in both kinds of exchanges. The divergent opinions set up a clash that could eventually end up at the Supreme Court -- and reverberate through the fall campaign.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Giving another chance to a key part of the Obamacare health law, a U.S. appeals court on Thursday threw out a decision it made in July that threatened to limit the availability of federal health insurance subsidies for millions of people.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit agreed to rehear the question of whether the subsidies should be available in all 50 states or only in some. The court will hear new oral arguments on Dec. 17.