Federal Court Dismisses Challenge to Affordable Care Act’s Contraception Requirement

From Wolters Kluwer: (click for full article)

U.S. District Court Judge Warren K. Urbom dismissed a case brought by attorneys general from Nebraska, Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas that challenged the rule under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) that requires health care plans to include contraception coverage, even for employees of certain religious institutions. The lawsuit, Nebraska v. HHS, which was joined by three employers associated with the Catholic Church and three employees of similar organizations, claimed that such a requirement violated the rights of non-exempt religious employers who oppose the use of contraception and threatened states’ budgetary stability.

The case was dismissed on July 17, 2012 on the grounds that the plaintiffs did not have standing to sue. The judge explained that the plaintiffs failed to show that they had suffered an injury that is concrete and not merely hypothetical.

Because the ACA provides that employers who have “grandfather status” are exempt from the rule governing contraception, the decision first examined whether the plaintiff employers would even be required to comply with the rule. The judge did not have to delve farther than this to find that the plaintiff employers and employees did not have standing to sue.