SCOTUS To Review Subsidy Issue

On November 7, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it was going to review King v. Burwell.  At issue in the case is whether Fourth Circuit correctly determined that the IRS did not exceed its authority when it released a rule in 2012 providing that federal subsidies under the Affordable Care Act are available in both state and federally operated exchanges, but rather was simply clarifying the statute by also providing subsidies in federal exchanges.

While the Supreme Court often waits for a true "split in the federal circuits" to review a case, it has the authority, when it deems appropriate, to hear cases that present important national issues.  The administration had asked the Supreme Court to wait until further action was taken in the lower courts on the issues, particularly in the Halbig v. Burwell case, where the entire Federal Circuit Court for the District of Columbia has agreed to review an earlier ruling by a three-judge panel that the IRS had exceeded its