Edward A. Morse (Creighton U. School of Law) has posted Lifting the Fog: Navigating the Penalties in the Affordable Care Act. The abstract follows.
This article provides an analysis and critique of tax penalties affecting employers and individuals in the Affordable Care Act. After an overview of the Act and its intended role in addressing problems in the health insurance system, the article turns to examine the employer and individual mandates, along with the requirement of minimum essential coverage. It argues that behavioral effects of these provisions are unlikely to achieve the desired policy outcomes. Moreover, the failure to accommodate conscience exemptions for employers and citizens with objections to contraceptive coverage likewise erects a barrier to achieving the desired policy goal of expanded coverage. Finally, the article briefly touches on the problems associated with state exchanges and their implications for employers and citizens seeking health insurance coverage. An appendix shows hypothetical computations affecting an employer decision to shift employees to exchanges rather than to continue employer-provided coverage.
And from the Introduction: Continue reading
District Court Grants Preliminary Injunction in Contraception Mandate Challenge
Another victory (though perhaps only temporary) for plaintiffs challenging the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate under RFRA. A federal district court in Michigan has granted a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of the mandate against a for-profit corporation whose owners object to complying with the mandate because of their Catholic beliefs. According to Judge Robert Cleland, neither the corporation nor the government had made a strong showing of success on the merits: the mandate might be the least restrictive means of achieving a compelling state interest, but the question was close. Given the religious freedom concerns here, however, the balance tipped in favor of granting the preliminary injunction, in order to avoid irreparable harm to plaintiffs while the case continued. The court dismissed a challenge to the mandate brought by a non-profit Catholic organization on the ground that the organization fit within a temporary regulatory safe-harbor and had not yet suffered a cognizable injury. The case is Legatus v. Sebelius, 2012 WL 5359630 (E.D. Michigan, Oct. 31, 2012).
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Posted in Commentary, Mark L. Movsesian
Tagged Contraception Mandate, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Recent Cases, Religious Freedom, Religious Liberty, RFRA