D.C. Appeals Court To Rehear Obamacare Subsidy Challenge

In what could be good news for the Obama administration, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has agreed to rehear a lawsuit that argued the federal government lacks the authority to provide insurance subsidies in states that do not run their own exchanges. The order to hear the case technically cancels the three-judge ruling from July that would have nullified subsidies given to residents in 36 states.

Los Angeles Times: D.C. Appeals Court To Review Decision Imperiling Obamacare Subsidies
President Obama's lawyers have won a second chance to stop a lawsuit that has the potential to unravel the national healthcare law and its system of insurance subsidies. The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said Thursday it will reconsider a 2-1 decision by a panel of the court in July that struck down the subsidies for health insurance provided under the Affordable Care Act in 36 states (Savage, 9/4).

The Washington Post’s Wonkblog: Obamacare Supporters Just Got Some Good News From The Courts
A few months after a three-member panel of the court ruled the federal government can't provide insurance subsidies through federal-run exchanges in 36 states, the court on Thursday granted the Obama administration's request for the entire panel to re-hear the case. The en banc hearing, as it's known, wasn't entirely unexpected — and with a heavy makeup of Democratic-appointed judges on the panel, it seems likely the administration will get a more favorable ruling when the entire court reconsiders the case later this year (Millman, 9/4).

The Associated Press: Court Grants Obama Plea To Re-Hear Health Case
The announcement diminishes the prospect of Supreme Court review of the issue in the near term. The initial appeals court ruling in Washington came out the same day that a panel of appellate judges in Richmond, Virginia, sided with the administration on the same issue. The health law's opponents had hoped that the split rulings would lead the high court to take up the issue soon (Sherman, 9/4).

Kaiser Health News: Capsules: DC Appeals Court Agrees To Rehear Case That Could Cripple Health Law
The full District of Columbia Court of Appeals Thursday agreed to rehear Halbig v. Burwell, a case charging that the federal government lacks the authority to provide consumers tax credits in health insurance exchanges not run by states. The order agreeing to hear the case technically cancels the three-judge ruling from July that found for the plaintiffs. That ruling, if upheld, could jeopardize the entire structure of the Affordable Care Act by making insurance unaffordable for millions of consumers in the 36 states where the federal government operates the exchange (Rovner, 9/4).

Politico: Full Appeals Court To Rehear Obamacare Case
Millions of people are getting subsidies, which come in the form of a tax credit, to make health insurance more affordable. None of the credits was cut off, though, pending more legal battles over one of the key provisions of the health care law’s massive coverage expansion. The decision to have a full, or en banc, hearing vacates the earlier ruling by the D.C. court. Critics of the health care law, including the plaintiffs in these cases, have argued that a specific provision in the law restricts the subsidies to the state-based system. The White House has strenuously argued that the intent of the full law makes clear that the federal exchanges were designed to be a backup for the states, including the subsidies (Kenen, 9/4).

McClatchy: Full D.C. Circuit To Hear 'Obamacare' Challenge
In what could be a spot of good news for the Obama administration, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has agreed to hear a challenge to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The 11-member appellate court is now stacked with a majority of Democratic appointees, including four named by President Barack Obama. The other judges include three from the Clinton administration, three from the George W. Bush administration and one from the George H.W. Bush administration (Doyle, 9/4).

Fiscal Times: Obamacare Subsidies Could Still Face Supreme Court
While a federal circuit court delivered some potentially good news for Obamacare on Thursday by throwing out an earlier ruling against the administration in the case of Halbig V. Burwell, some legal experts are still convinced the law will head back to the Supreme Court. If that happens, the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, could be in jeopardy (Ehley, 9/5).