Court Turns Aside Objections Of Little Sisters Of The Poor To Mandate
The Affordable Care Act’s requirement that employer-based health insurance plans cover birth control was revisited in Federal court again on July 14. The case before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals considered whether the Supreme Court’s decision in its Hobby Lobby case, which found closely-held businesses did not have to comply with the birth control mandate on religious grounds, extends to nonprofit religious groups. The Obama Administration finalized a waiver for the religious nonprofits last year that provided them with an exemption from the birth control mandate if they notified their health insurance company or the government of their objections, after which the health insurance company would provide the benefit directly. The Little Sisters of the Poor, a Catholic religious order who operate a Denver nursing home, objected to being required to submit the waiver on First Amendment free exercise of religion grounds. However, the Court ruled that the “accommodation relieves plaintiffs of their obligation to provide, pay for or facilitate contraceptive coverage, and does so without substantially burdening their religious exercise.” Further, though the religious order objected to submitting the waiver in itself, the court held “opting out instead relieves them from complicity” in the delivery of the contraception. Bloomberg News notes the decision is “the second win for President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act in three weeks,” following the Supreme Court’s June 25 ruling in King v. Burwell that upheld the ACA’s subsidy provisions for states that rely on the Federal healthcare exchange. The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represented the Little Sisters of the Poor in the case, is considering whether to appeal to the Supreme Court.
What This Means For Small Businesses
The Little Sisters of the Poor case applies directly only to religious nonprofits, but also sets a new marker in the developing jurisprudence on the Affordable Care Act. If the Supreme Court agrees to hear an appeal in the case, its decision could generate new boundaries on this aspect of the healthcare law as it affects small businesses.
Additional Reading
The Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal also provide analysis of the case.
Note: this article is intended to keep small business owners up on the latest news. It does not necessarily represent the policy stances of NFIB.
