Supreme Court grants temporary reprieve from contraceptive mandate

[Keefer]

Last edited Fri Jan 24, 2014, 07:36 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: Politico

The Obama administration cannot enforce the Affordable Care Act’s contraception coverage requirements against a Catholic nuns’ order for the time being, if the nuns tell the government they object to providing that coverage, the Supreme Court ruled Friday afternoon.

The Supreme Court’s action could defuse for the time being a showdown between religious employers and the federal government over the procedures for providing contraceptive coverage to employees of hospitals, nursing homes and other entities run by religious groups.

In a one-page order issued by the court without any noted dissent, the justices said that — at least for now — the Little Sisters of the Poor did not have to follow the procedure the Obama Administration established for religious groups to escape complying with ACA-related rules requiring that employer-provided coverage include contraceptives.

Instead of filling out a government-issued form, the nuns can simply send the Department of Health and Human Services a written notice that the order is a religious organization with “religious objections to providing coverage for contraceptive services.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/contraceptive-mandate-obamacare-little-sisters-for-the-poor-supreme-court-102587.html

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Round one goes to the Little Sisters of the Poor.

[elleng]

1. Court Gives Nuns a Compromise on Health Care Issue.

(stated otherwise.)

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/01/24/us/politics/ap-us-supreme-court-health-overhaul.html?hp&_r=0

The Supreme Court is offering a short-term compromise to continue to exempt a group of Denver nuns that operates charity nursing homes from the birth control mandate of the nation's health care law.

The court is asking them to declare in writing that they have religious objections to providing that coverage. The nuns had said earlier that a government form they were being asked to sign violates their religious beliefs.

The order crafted by the high court on Friday would keep in force Justice Sonia Sotomayor's order to hold off the contraceptive coverage requirement of the Affordable Care Act.

The stay issued by Sotomayor would last until a federal appeals court rules on the nuns' appeal.

[JoePhilly]

5. Exactly ... they still have to certify, in writing.

Which they did not want to do ... unless filling out government forms, in general, goes against their religious beliefs, but submitting the same information using no form, is not a sin.

[Yo_Mama]

13. That was never the issue - this does solve their conscience problem.

The government reg requires the order to fill out a certain form and send a specific notification to third-party insurance administrators. That notification triggers the requirement for the third-party insurance administrator to then provide the missing coverage free of charge to those covered by the nun order's plan.

The order issued today does not require the nuns to fulfill the notice requirement in the regulations that would then require their insurance administrator to provide birth control coverage, so it does indeed solve their problem.

[freshwest]

15. Self-delete, wrong place. n/t

[elleng]

2. 'this order should not be construed as an expression of the Court’s views on the merits.'

[JDPriestly]

3. Very sad for the women who work for the nuns.

[last1standing]

20. We still don't know which way SCOTUS will go with this.

I think it was you who said that the Court would likely use the precedent set by Smith to side against Little Sisters while I thought it was more likely they would use Amos and Hosannah-Tabor to hold for a religious accommodation.

I still hope I'm wrong on this issue and I don't think this temporary stay is too much of an indicator of which way they'll go. Unlike allowing marriage equality to continue, temporarily suspending birth control isn't likely to create too much of an issue if the Court eventually rules against Little Sisters.

[xxqqqzme]

4. Well that is one way

to insure the 'little sisters' have poor to justify their existence.

[SunSeeker]

17. So true. nt

[frazzled]

6. Well, it will extend to most American women in the meantime

Except those who work for crazy religious nonprofits. In the end, I believe the court will uphold the provision.

People are ragging on Sonia Sotomayor, but she is probably right to have this issue settled one way or another ... because otherwise we'll have screaming nuns for the next 50 years.

[blkmusclmachine]

7. Have a gut feeling that all the good stuff will be chipped away piece by piece, leaving only the tax

part left intact, and payable on demand.

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. Please use the title and link to the actual news story, as per LBN rules

This appears to be the story: http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/contraceptive-mandate-obamacare-little-sisters-for-the-poor-supreme-court-102587.html "Supreme Court grants temporary reprieve from contraceptive mandate"

Yours, an LBN host.

[Keefer]

9. When I posted this...

that story was not out. I got the link in an email alert from Politico.

Should I edit the post?

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. Yes, please do (nt)

[Keefer]

11. Done n/t

[mike_c]

12. make an HHS program that provides free contraception to any woman who signs up....

Problem solved. Pay for it by taxing the health insurance companies the money they'll save by not having to provide contraception coverage. How much could that realistically cost, relative to say, five minutes of military spending? Open to any citizen or resident woman who wants contraception, with out anyone else's knowledge.

[quadrature]

14. three more years of this?

If I remember correctly,
PPACA was passed in March '10.

that is not long enough
to settle the petty bickering?

[freshwest]

16. Do they fill out government forms to get tax money from people who don't hold their beliefs? n/t

[SunSeeker]

18. Exactly. Why should my tax dollars subsidize the Little Sisters--who pay no tax?!

They pay no income tax nor property tax on their land, even though they get all the services of the commons (road, police, fire and ambulance). I, who do not believe in the religion, am forced to finance them.

[theHandpuppet]

19. This was just the proverbial foot in the door

How clever to bring this suit on behalf of the "Little Sisters of the Poor" when the agenda is to exempt all RC-affiliated groups/businesses from the ACA mandate for contraception coverage.

http://www.usccb.org/news/2014/14-020.cfm
http://www.usccb.org/news/2012/12-163.cfm
http://www.usccb.org/news/2011/11-168.cfm
http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/hhs-mandate/index.cfm
http://www.usccb.org/news/2012/12-012.cfm

Of course, their cohorts among the Protestant evangelicals are ecstatic as well.