Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Supreme Court Orders New Look At Notre Dame's Contraceptive Challenge
The Supreme Court has revived the University of Notre Dame's effort to shield itself from an Obama administration policy to ensure all female employees are provided a full range of contraceptives, including those who work for religious schools and colleges. The administration says Catholic colleges need not provide or pay for the disputed contraceptives themselves, but they must at least notify their insurer or the government so the coverage can be provided separately. (Savage, 3/9)
Notre Dame is among dozens of religious organizations that have challenged a compromise in the Affordable Care Act offered by the Obama administration to faith-based groups. The compromise attempts to create a buffer for faith-based groups that oppose birth control, while ensuring that women still can obtain contraceptives free of charge. The federal appeals court in Chicago ruled against Notre Dame, but that occurred before the Supreme Court decided the Hobby Lobby case in favor of corporations with similar objections. (3/9)
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday revived the University of Notre Dame's religious objections to the requirement for contraception coverage under President Barack Obama's healthcare law, throwing out a lower court decision in favor of the federal government. The justices asked the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its decision against the South Bend, Indiana-based Roman Catholic university in light of the June 2014 Supreme Court ruling that allowed certain privately owned corporations to seek exemptions from the provision. (Hurley, 3/9)
A local order of nuns that has sued the federal government over a contraception coverage requirement under Obamacare found hope in a ruling Monday by the U.S. Supreme Court, which backed the University of Notre Dame in a similar action. The Little Sisters of the Poor, an international order of Catholic nuns with U.S. headquarters in Catonsville, is one of hundreds of groups fighting the requirement on religious grounds. (Savage and Knezevich, 3/9)
The Supreme Court on Monday tossed out a lower court鈥檚 ruling that required the University of Notre Dame to cover all forms of birth control for its employees under ObamaCare. The ruling from the Supreme Court gives new life to an appeal from Notre Dame, which has sought an exemption from ObamaCare鈥檚 contraception mandate because of its religious ties. (Ferris, 3/9)
