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A federal appeals court Tuesday handed the Obama administration another victory in its effort to guarantee coverage of contraceptives under the Affordable Care Act, rejecting a challenge by the Little Sisters of the Poor, an order of Roman Catholic nuns. The United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, in Denver, found that the nuns could opt out of a requirement to provide contraceptive coverage under an “accommodation” devised by the administration. The rule does not impose a “substantial burden” on the nuns’ free exercise of religion, the court said. (Pear, 7/14)

Under alternative arrangements finalized by the Obama administration last week, employers who have such objections must tell their insurance company or the federal government. The insurance company then takes over responsibility for providing the coverage to employees who want it. The Little Sisters of the Poor and other religiously affiliated employers such as Christian universities say those steps are inadequate because they still require the insurance plan the employers set up to provide contraception, which they believe to be wrong. Some plaintiffs are opposed to most forms of birth control; others object specifically to forms such as the so-called morning-after pill, which they consider tantamount to abortion. (Radnofsky, 7/14)

The case involves a group of Colorado nuns and four Christian colleges in Oklahoma. Religious groups are already exempt from covering contraceptives. But the plaintiffs argued that the exemption doesn't go far enough because they must sign away the coverage to another party, making them feel complicit in providing the contraceptives. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed. The judges wrote that the law with the exemption does not burden the exercise of religion. (7/14)

The federal healthcare law requires employers to provide health insurance policies that cover preventive services for women including access to contraception and sterilization. (7/15)

The Denver-based Little Sisters of the Poor, who sued to avoid complying with the Obamacare contraception mandate, lost Tuesday in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled it must allow employees to have contraception coverage. Little Sisters challenged the process it must follow to get out from under the contraception mandate but failed, the court decided, to show a substantial burden on the exercise of its religion. (Draper, 7/14)

A judge has ruled against a Wyoming Indian tribe's claim that the federal government shouldn't classify it as a large employer under the Affordable Care Act — a designation requiring the tribe to provide insurance coverage for its hundreds of employees. An official with the Northern Arapaho tribe said the decision could have ramifications for other tribes as well, leaving them a choice between purchasing expensive group health insurance for their employees or facing federal penalties. (Neary, 7/14)