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I have read the phrase used by the D.C. Court of Appeals in Halbig v. Burwell: "an exchange established by the State."
This word "State" is singular and means government, not a private company. If it had said states, that would be another issue and it would have forbid D.C. and U.S. possessions from getting assistance in tax credits from the IRS, as they are not states.
In other parts of the law it encourages states to set up their own exchange under federal guidelines. The phrase did not say State of Utah or Wyoming. It said "State." In about 5th grade English, you learn the word "state" is the government when used in this contexts. Exchange was also singular, which would mean one exchange, not exchanges. Everyone is making this harder than it should be. Just read as written. We have a Secretary of State of the United States. State means government.
Allen Klinefelter
Salt Lake City