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Obama Administration Appeals Health Subsidies Ruling

The Obama administration Friday asked a federal appeals court to grant another hearing in a case challenging Obamacare subsidies, and hours later, the court gave the subsidies opponents 15 days to respond to that request.

The Obama administration Friday asked a federal appeals court to grant another hearing in a case challenging Obamacare subsidies, and hours later, the court gave the subsidies opponents 15 days to respond to that request.

The Justice Department filed the petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in the case Halbig v. Burwell. In a blow to the Affordable Care Act, a three-judge panel ruled last month that the subsidies can’t flow through the federal exchange, HealthCare.gov, but only through state markets.


That same day, a separate three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit in Virginia issued a contradictory ruling that the subsidies were allowed in both state and federal exchanges. The plaintiffs this week petitioned the Supreme Court on that case, King v. Burwell, rather than ask for a broader review at the appellate level.

Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.
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