Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Supreme Court To Hear Oral Arguments By Phone In Health Law Contraception Case
The Supreme Court鈥檚 third day of hearing arguments by telephone is its first chance at a high-profile case, this one involving the Affordable Care Act. The justices are hearing a dispute Wednesday about Trump administration rules that would allow more employers who cite a religious or moral objection to opt out of providing no-cost birth control to women. (Gresko and Sherman, 5/6)
At issue in the case is a Trump administration rule that significantly cuts back on access to birth control under the Affordable Care Act. Obamacare, the massive overhaul of the health care system, sought to equalize preventive health care coverage for women and men by requiring employers to include free birth control in their health care plans. Houses of worship like churches and synagogues were automatically exempted from the provision, but religiously affiliated nonprofits like universities, charities and hospitals were not. (Totenberg, 5/6)
Opponents of the rules say they could have decreased access to contraceptives for hundreds of聽thousands of women. But supporters of the rules say they are needed to protect against religious discrimination for employers whose beliefs conflict with contraception. Multiple district courts issued nationwide injunctions against the rules.聽And in a case brought by Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the U.S.聽Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit continued to block the rules. (Raman, 5/5)
The two previous cases that came to the Supreme Court over the coverage mandate concerned whether Obama administration requirements imposed too harsh a burden on employers with religious objections to providing or facilitating contraceptive coverage.聽Wednesday鈥檚 case is the first to reach the Supreme Court under President Donald Trump, and asks the opposite question: Whether Trump administration rules released in 2017 provide too wide of a carve out for religious and moral objectors to deny women coverage.聽 (Higgins, 5/6)
In other news 鈥�
Jose Francisco Rodriguez supports a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Mary-Faith Martinez supports a public health care option. Ethan Lucky supports criminal justice reform. Autumn Crawford wants government action on climate change. One thing they have in common? They鈥檙e all Republicans. Like millennials, who are now in their mid-20s to 30s, members of Generation Z 鈥� born after 1996 鈥� tend to lean left. But there are still plenty of young Republicans, and the generational divide that is so apparent between younger and older Democrats is no less present on the other side of the aisle. It鈥檚 just less visible. (Astor, 5/6)