Administration to broaden contraception accommodation for religious groups

Administration to broaden contraception accommodation for religious groups

By JOANNE KENEN | 7/22/14 POLITICO

The Obama administration will create a new option for certain religious nonprofits that object to both the Obamacare contraception mandate and the earlier administration efforts to find accommodation for them, according to a court document filed Tuesday.

The brief filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit says the administration is broadening the accommodation policy after the Supreme Court ruled that Wheaton College, a religious institution, did not have to provide contraception in employee health plans while the issue makes its way through the courts. Details were not spelled out.

The legal issues surrounding religious nonprofits are separate from the recent Hobby Lobby ruling by the Supreme Court. In Hobby Lobby, the court ruled that certain family-owned for-profit businesses did not have to provide birth control in employee health plans if it violated their religious beliefs. The cases involving religious nonprofits are still before the courts.

Wheaton and some other groups, such as an order of nuns in Denver, objected to filling out a form that would trigger the accommodation process – which would still guarantee that women get the contraception coverage, but without direct involvement of the employer. This will provide an alternative, although an administration official said it would take about a month to issue a new rule.

“This is part of ensuring that all women have access to contraception coverage,” a senior White House official said. “The administration believes the accommodation is legally sound,” but the administration will still broaden the policy.

“The Wheaton College injunction does not reflect a final Supreme Court determination that RFRA [Religious Freedom Restoration Act] requires the government to apply the accommodations in this manner,” the brief said. But the administration decided to move ahead.