Federal Court rejects employer challenge to ACA’s contraception coverage provision

Posted on October 2, 2012 | No Comments
Filed under Judiciary, Legal Challenges

PDF Version

Details

Implementation Briefs

Key Developments

Library

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri ruled on September 28, 2012 that the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) requirement that employer-sponsored health care plans cover women’s preventive services, including contraception, does not violate the Religion Freedom Restoration Act or Fire Amendment Free Exercise, Establishment, or Freedom of Speech clauses in the O’Brien v. HHS case. The court’s ruling granted the Obama administration’s motion to dismiss the complaint. Judge Carol E. Jackson argued that the aforementioned regulations imposed no substantial burden on the plaintiff’s exercise of religious beliefs, and thus dismissed the complaint on its merits.

The plaintiff in the case is Frank O’Brien, the chairman and managing partner of O’Brien Industrial Holdings LLC (OIH). The company engages in mining, processing, distributing refractory and ceramic materials and products. O’Brien is Catholic and brought the action action the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), claiming that his company should be exempt from the ACA contraception provision. O’Brien and OIH argued that the Religion Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) protects a person’s right to exercise his religion and that the ACA provision violates this Act.

The court argued that the “RFRA is a shield, not a sword….It protects individuals from substantial burdens on religious exercise …; it is not a means to force one’s religious practices upon others.”

No Comments

Public comments are closed.

Update: Medicaid Preventive Services Coverage Incentive for Traditional Adult Beneficiaries Covered Under the Standard Medicaid Program

February 21, 2013

Preventive services are optional for traditional Medicaid beneficiaries^[1] ages 21 and older who are covered under the standard Medicaid program. Young adults ages 18-21 remain entitled to EPSDT benefits, which encompass periodic and as-needed health exams, all age-appropriate immunizations, and other preventive services.

Obama Administration issues contraceptive coverage proposed rules

February 1, 2013

The Obama administration issued proposed rules for public comment regarding contraceptive coverage with no cost sharing under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The proposed rules provide women with coverage for preventive care that includes contraceptive services with no co-pays. Importantly, the rule accounts for concerns of some religious organizations by extending accommodations that provide enrollees separate contraceptive coverage with no co-pays, but at no cost to the religious organization. Insured plans: For insured plans, including student health plans, the religious organizations would be required to provide notice to their insurer. The insurer would then be responsible for notifying enrollees that it is providing them with no-cost contraceptive coverage through separate individual health insurance policies. Self-insured plans: For self-insured plans, as well as student health plans, religions organizations would be required to notify third party administrators. The third party administrator would then work with an insurer to arrange no-cost contraceptive coverage through separate policies. Additionally, the proposed rules provide a detailed definition of "religious employer” for the purposes of the exemption. Click here for a fact sheet.

DOJ will not attempt to block new challenges to ACA

November 1, 2012

The Department of Justice (DOJ) told the Supreme Court yesterday that they would not attempt to block requests to reopen a lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Such a lawsuit could potentially place the ACA in front of the Supreme Court again as early as next year. In 2010, Liberty University sued over the minimum coverage provision and other aspects of the ACA, but the case was set aside when the 26 states and NFIB case went before the Supreme Court. Because the court upheld the constitutionality of the individual mandate in its June 28th decision, it essentially tossed out Liberty's lawsuit. Liberty now wants the Supreme Court to review its other challenges to the ACA. Specifically, Liberty claims that the law's employer coverage requirements are unconstitutional, as the mandate's contraception coverage requirement violates the right to freely exercise religion. Over 30 such claims have been filed against the Obama administration. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli's letter to the court states that although the DOJ believes that the Liberty claims "lack merit," the DOJ does not oppose the courts reviewing the suit.

CCIIO releases additional guidance on safe harbor from contraceptive coverage requirement for employers

August 16, 2012

The Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a bulletin providing further guidance on the coverage of contraceptive services without cost sharing. In an August 2011 interim final rule (IFR), HHS required non-grandfathered health plans to provide such coverage beginning August 1, 2012, but also included a temporary safe harbor from enforcement in the rule for employers objecting based on religious reasons. In this latest guidance, CCIIO clarifies what types of employers are eligible for the safe harbor and when specifically it can be invoked. To qualify for the temporary enforcement safe harbor and thus be excluded from the contraceptive coverage mandate, organizations must be nonprofits, from February 10, 2012 onward, they must not have provided contraceptive coverage due to religious beliefs; they are mandated to disclose to participants that contraceptives are not covered; and they must self-certify that they satisfy the three aforementioned criteria. The Obama administration noted that the ACA provision would provide women with access to preventive services, including contraceptives, without cost sharing, while ensuring nonprofit religious organizations are not forced to cover any contraceptive service to which they object.

SCOTUS denies contraceptive coverage emergency injunction

December 27, 2012

Hobby Lobby, a Christian-run arts and crafts chain, filed for an emergency injunction on December 21, 2012 with the Supreme Court to block President Obama's birth control coverage rules. Hobby Lobby's complaint surrounds the Affordable Care Act's (ACA's) requirement that most employers cover contraception without copay. Yesterday, the Supreme Court today denied Hobby Lobby's request, which was joined by the Christian book company, Mardel. The U.S. Supreme Court said it will not decide the case before lower courts have ruled. Justice Sonia Sotomayor argued that the petitioners did not meet the standards requisite for a preliminary injunction. The court also denied the request that the court take up the entire case, in which they argue that the ACA's contraceptive coverage requirement forces them to violate their religious beliefs. The case will return to the district court for a ruling on the merits of whether the Obama administration can require employers who have religious objections to contraceptive coverage to provide said insurance coverage in their employer plan.

Supreme Court orders Fourth Circuit to hear Liberty case

November 26, 2012

The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to examine the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act's (ACA's) employer requirement to cover contraceptives without a co-pay. This move could put the ACA in front of the Supreme Court again as early as next year. The order was in response to a request from Liberty University, one of the groups that sued over the mandate in 2010. After the June ruling, the Supreme Court dismissed Liberty's entire lawsuit. Over this past summer, Liberty asked the Supreme Court to reopen the arguments pertaining to the employer mandate and the contraceptive coverage mandate. The court agreed to the request and today's order instructs the Fourth Circuit to review both pieces of the argument.

Judge exempts religious company from ACA's contraception requirement

November 19, 2012

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton granted a preliminary injunction to Tyndale House Publishers, enabling the company to reject the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provision which requires employers to provide its employees with contraceptive coverage. The company argued that it does not want to cover contraceptives, as it views them as abortions. Plan B and IUDs are the contraceptives at issue in the case. If a woman is already pregnant, the Plan B pill has no effect. Plan B merely prevents ovulation or fertilization of an egg. Plan B can also prevent a fertilized egg from implanting on the uterine wall. IUDs mainly work by blocking sperm, but may also have the same anti-implantation effect. According to Tyndale, this implantation prevention is not morally different than abortion. Tyndale president and CEO Mark D. Taylor filed the lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last month, arguing that the provision causes employers to violate their religious beliefs. In his decision, Judge Walton acknowledged that the government has interests in promoting public health and ensuring that women have equal access to health care, but he said that the government has not offered proof that the ACA's contraceptive coverage provision furthers these interests.