With Healthcare.gov still not working the way it is supposed to — and large portions of the “back office” functions yet to be completed — the Administration is preparing another fix: Allowing consumers to purchase qualified insurance plans directly from insurers with the benefit of the subsidies that are only supposed to be available through state-based exchanges. The law’s language is quite clear on this. Up until now, the Administration had argued that the subsidies can be provided through federal exchanges (and not just those “established by a state” as specified in the PPACA’s text), but now it may argue that exchanges are not required at all. Further, as Megan McArdle notes, the law quite clearly excludes insurance companies from performing exchange functions. Once again, the Administration appears to be breaking the law to save it.