government

Judge bars ACA birth control mandate

NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Aug. 13, 2012

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A federal judge temporarily has blocked a provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires health plans to provide contraceptive care and other preventive services at no additional out-of-pocket cost to enrollees.

Hercules Industries, a Denver-based heating and air conditioning company that is owned by a Catholic family, sued the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services over the provision. The family said the coverage mandate violates their religious freedom. Dozens of other lawsuits against the birth control mandate have been filed, primarily by Catholic institutions and schools. These legal challenges are pending.

In his July 27 opinion, U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado Senior District Judge John L. Kane Jr. said the birth control mandate requires more study, specifically whether corporations can “exercise religion” in a way that is protected by federal law. The decision temporarily bars the federal government from enforcing the contraceptive mandate only against Hercules Industries.

The decision is available online (link).

Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/08/13/gvbf0813.htm.

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