Federal appeals court panel says most Obamacare subsidies illegal

In a potentially crippling blow to Obamacare, a Federal appeals court declared Tuesday that government subsidies worth billions of dollars that helped 4.7 million people buy insurance on HealthCare.gov are illegal.

The 2-1 ruling said such subsidies can be granted only to people who bought insurance in an Obamacare exchange run by an individual state or the District of Columbia — not on the federally run exchange, HealthCare.gov.

The ruling relied on a close reading of language in the Affordable Care Act.

“Section 36B plainly makes subsidies available in the Exchanges established by states,” wrote Senior Circuit Judge Raymond Randolph, who was joined by Judge Thomas Griffith in the majority decision on the case known as Halbig v. Burwell.

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Paul Ryan – What Obama won’t tell you about Medicare and ObamaCare

Speaking at The Villages near Orlando, Florida on August 18, 2012, Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan brilliantly articulated the case against ObamaCare.

His best line of the day? Commenting on President Obama’s recent transfer of $716 billion from Medicare to pay for his own “signature legislative achievement,” Ryan proclaimed, “Medicare shouldn’t be a piggy bank for ObamaCare!”