Two Federal Appeals Courts Issue Conflicting Rulings on ACA Subsidies

The Hill: ObamaCare subsidies in jeopardy, by Elise Viebeck:

A pillar of ObamaCare was put in jeopardy Tuesday as two appeals courts split on whether the law’s premium subsidies are legal in 36 states. . . .

Politico: How Obama’s court strategy may help save Obamacare, by Josh Gerstein:

Last fall, President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid deployed the “nuclear option” to help get three liberal judges onto the D.C. Circuit appeals court.

Tuesday’s ruling on Obamacare is a dramatic example of why they forced the issue.

On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a 2-1 decision that could gut much of Obamacare by preventing the federal government from offering subsidies to many Americans. The two judges in the majority were appointed by Republican presidents.

But the full court now has seven judges appointed by Democrats and four by Republicans. It took only an hour or so for the administration to announce that it plans to ask the entire bench to review the decision. . . .

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The D.C. Circuit's decision is available here.  The Fourth Circuit's decision is  here.