Two Federal Court Rulings, Two Different Results: Montana ObamaCare Tax Credits Safe

On Tuesday, two federal appeals courts released conflicting rulings hours apart going to the very heart of the federal government's role in Obamacare. Montana Insurance Commissioner Monica Lindeen said she does not believe Montanans receiving tax credits to buy health insurance are in danger of losing them.

Montana Insurance Commissioner Monica Lindeen:

"We do not believe the thousands of working Montanans currently receiving tax credits to buy individual health insurance for themselves and their children are in any danger of losing those credits," Montana Insurance Commissioner Monica Lindeen said. "This case will first have to wind its way through the federal court system, a long and arduous process."

A three-judge panel in Washington, D.C., voted 2-1 to invalidate subsidies in 36 states, Montana being one, under the federal exchange. Hours later, a three-judge panel in Richmond, Virginia, unanimously ruled the opposite, upholding the subsidies nationwide.

The legal issue could land in the U.S. Supreme Court as soon as later this year.