The Senate-Passed Bipartisan Patient Protection Act Adds Sensible Protections for Employers While Preserving Strong Legal Accountability for Health Plans

2014 ◽

Vol 32 (2) ◽

pp. 381-400

Author(s):

Leigh Argentieri Coogan

Keyword(s):

Affordable Care Act ◽

Cost Sharing ◽

Religious Organizations ◽

District Court ◽

Health Plans ◽

For Profit ◽

Patient Protection ◽

The Supreme Court ◽

Regulation Changes ◽

Preventative Services

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), employers are required to provide employees with health plans, which must include FDA, approved contraceptives with no cost sharing. While Health and Humans Services (HHS) revised the regulation to allow for a compromise among religious organizations and non-profits run by religious organizations, private for profit businesses must comply with the ACA even if the business asserts to be founded on religious principles. Several for profit business have sued in district court for an injunction against the requirements. However, a circuit split exists among courts granting preliminary injunctions against the ACA pending a granting of appeal. This note will focus on whether the federal government can compel secular, for profit organizations to provide employee health plans that include contraceptives, the morning after pill and sterilization under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Unless the statute or regulation changes, the Supreme Court will likely need to grant certiorari to resolve the issue.

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Health Insurance is Dead; Long Live Health Insurance

American Journal of Law & Medicine ◽

10.1177/009885881404000202 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 40 (2-3) ◽

pp. 195-214 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Wendy K. Mariner

Keyword(s):

Health Insurance ◽

Private Health Insurance ◽

Health Plans ◽

Public And Private ◽

Department Of Labor ◽

Department Of Health ◽

Patient Protection ◽

Old Order ◽

Private Employer ◽

Treasury Department

Upon the death of a king or queen, the proclamation “the king is dead, long live the king” announces a new monarch’s accession to the throne, preserving the sovereign order. As the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is implemented, it is tempting to proclaim the reign of a new system of health insurance. But, will it preserve the old order or initiate a new form of governance? As states and insurers grapple with new rules and regulations being issued from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Treasury Department and the Department of Labor, one might believe an entirely new health insurance system is being built. Yet, the ACA is designed to preserve existing forms of public and private health insurance, such as Medicare and private employer group health plans, which will continue to operate much as they have in the recent past. What has changed is the role that insurance will play and how that will shape the way we think about health policy.

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