Supreme Court expands religious exemption from Obamacare contraceptive requirements to private employers

When passed, so-called “Obamacare” contained exemptions from its contraceptive-coverage requirements for religious organizations and other non-profits that hold sincerely held religious objections. Following a series of regulatory developments and judicial decisions, eventually, by 2018, the Trump Administration expanded the exemptions to include private employers, including even publicly traded companies, and secular universities, even with regard to their student health care coverage.

In a fractured decision, the Supreme Court upheld the Trump Administration’s 2018 rule, at least for now. It is not clear from their fractured opinions whether the opinion resulted in a flat-out win or simply a remand. At least 2 of the Justices (Breyer and Kagan) whose votes are included in the 7-vote majority, wrote a concurrence outlining why they believe the Trump Administration may ultimately lose the case on remand. Commentators have already begun noting their belief that the case will not be successful on remand and is likely to return on appeal to the Supreme Court.

Source: Little Sisters of the Poor v. Penn., case no. 19-431 (7/8/2020).