Dive Brief:
- Late last week, the Eleventh Circuit followed the Second, Third, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Tenth, and District of Columbia Circuits in upholding the federal government's accommodation to religious organizations that object to providing contraceptive coverage as part of their employee health benefits, Health Affairs reports. The blog adds the Eighth Circuit ruled the accommodation to be invalid.
- The court's decision reversed that of a district court, the blog says, that had ruled against the government, while it affirmed another district court decision that had upheld the accommodation.
- The majority of the Eleventh Circuit concluded the accommodation complies with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, though Judge Gerald Tjoflat provided a lengthy dissenting opinion.
Dive Insight:
Perhaps most notable about the decision was despite upholding the accommodation, the Eleventh Circuit asked the government not to enforce it against the plaintiffs in the case while awaiting a pending Supreme Court’s decision--a matter complicated by the recent death of Justice Antonin Scalia.
The case centers around latest version of the accommodation that requires religious organizations objecting to contraceptive coverage to notify the government, which then requires the organization's insurer or third party administrator to cover the contraceptives, Health Affairs details.
The plaintiffs say the arrangement still burdens them because their notification prompts other contraceptive coverage, but the majority in the case disagreed, saying the law, rather than the plaintiffs, cause the insurer contraceptive coverage to kick in.