How did the D.C. Circuit rule in Halbig v. Burwell?

In July 2014, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in Halbig v. Burwell that the federal government could not provide subsidies for health insurance policies purchased on the federal exchange.12

The court found (2–1) that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act "unambiguously restricts" the availability of these subsidies to insurance purchased on exchanges "established by the State". By interpreting the law to exclude the federal exchange, the ruling threatened to deprive millions of people of the financial assistance necessary to afford insurance.21

However, this decision was later vacated when the court agreed to hold an en banc hearing. Ultimately, the case was held in abeyance pending the Supreme Court's disposition of King v. Burwell, which reached the opposite conclusion and was later affirmed by the Supreme Court in 2015.12