The Supreme Court on Wednesday will again consider the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that all insurance plans provide free access to contraceptives. Some religiously affiliated nonprofit groups object — not to the requirement per se, but to the work-around the government devised to accommodate their theological opposition to contraception. The nonprofits do not have a strong case.
The government’s policy is to arrange contraception coverage for employees of these nonprofits, strictly segregated from the groups’ accounts, through their insurance companies. All the nonprofits have to do is fill out a simple form. They claim it is sinful for them to sign the form, which enables a process whereby someone else takes the time and expense of distributing contraception to employees who want it. The nonprofits argue that the government is not simply asking them to “raise their hand” in objection. They would have to give the government the names of their insurers, which the government would use to arrange for separate contraception coverage. The government “is forcing them to hand over the keys” to their health plans.
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