The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops sent letters to all 535 members of Congress in regards to the birth control mandate. The content of the letters urges lawmakers to allow for-profit religious businesses to be exempt from having to offer employer sponsored health plans that cover contraception. Recently, the Obama administration provided clarification about the birth control mandate. It makes it very clear which employers will be exempt from the requirement that they offer employer-sponsored health plans that cover the cost of contraception, and which employers will not be exempt from the law. In short, it works like this: … Continue reading →

Not long after the Obama administration issued a clarification on the birth control mandate, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops announced that they don’t like it. This is unsurprising, because the USCCB has been against the birth control mandate since it was first made into law. Their opinion does not cause a change to the law, however. Here we go again! One could describe the battle for birth control coverage as resembling a ping pong match. The Obama administration includes contraception as preventative care and requires insurance plans to cover the cost of it. The United States Conference of … Continue reading →

The Obama administration has released a clarification on the rules regarding the birth control mandate. It is the portion of the Affordable Care Act that requires health plans to cover contraception. Do you understand what changed and what stayed the same? This blog will give you the facts. The birth control mandate is part of the Affordable Care Act. As of August 1, 2012, all health plans are required to cover women’s preventative health care without charging for a co-pay, coinsurance, or deductible. It includes coverage for all forms of contraception that were approved by the Food and Drug Administration. … Continue reading →

A United States District Court has granted a temporary emergency motion to the business owned by Tom Monaghan. He is the former owner of Domino’s Pizza. The injunction is not for the pizza chain, but is for his office park. This halts his requirement to adhere to the birth control mandate until his case makes it through all the courts. In 2012, Tom Monaghan, (former owner of Domino’s Pizza), sued the federal government over the birth control mandate. According to the Christian Science Monitor Tom Monaghan is Catholic, and feels that contraception isn’t health care but a “gravely immoral” practice. … Continue reading →

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in Chicago, has granted a temporary halt to enforcement of the portion of the Affordable Care Act called the birth control mandate to a construction firm called Korte & Luitjohan Contractors. This particular case is expected to continue in the 7th Circuit. In October of 2012, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a company called Korte & Luitjohan Contractors, Inc., in regards to the birth control mandate. In short, the birth control mandate requires all health plans (including employer sponsored health plans), to cover … Continue reading →