By Holly Fernandez Lynch Today, HHS released new final regulations further clarifying the contraceptives coverage mandate. I have not had the chance to fully digest these, but you can read them here. Key nuggets, pulled straight from the text: These final regulations continue to allow eligible organizations to choose between using EBSA Form 700 or the alternative…
By David Orentlicher [cross-posted at HealthLawProfs blog and orentlicher.tumblr.com] For those who feared that the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby decision would open the door for employers to block contraceptive access for women in the workplace, welcome reassurance has come this week from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. According to the Fifth Circuit, when the…
By Dan Traficonte In this third blog post covering my visit to the Consortium of Universities for Global Health Conference, I highlight some research from the conference focused on the importance of considering local social practices and belief systems into health policies and interventions. Faduma Gure, a Master’s student in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences at the…
By Lauren Taylor In addition to the closely-watched senate and gubernatorial candidates, 146 ballot questions were up for vote yesterday in 42 states across the nation. Below is a review of the some of the most pressing bioethics issues on the docket and the latest information on what passed according to Politico’s Ballot Tracker.
By Alexandra Gross What does “access” really mean for the purposes of PPACA’s contraceptive coverage mandate? For two years, I’ve been enrolled in Loyola University of Chicago’s Student Health Insurance Plan, provided through a Blue Cross Blue Shield Illinois (BCBSIL) PPO plan. During this time, I have had to pay out-of-pocket for my contraceptive method…
By Jonathan F. Will In the wake of the Hobby Lobby decision, the US Department of Health and Human Services announced on Friday proposed rules regarding exemptions for those objecting to the contraceptive mandate. Whenever I read about conscientious objections to health care services made by providers, patients, or indeed, employers, I am reminded that…
By Holly Fernandez Lynch In response to the SCOTUS decision granting Wheaton College a preliminary injunction against having to comply with the terms of the HHS accommodation available to non-profit religious organizations who object to covering contraceptives for their employees (i.e., submitting a form to their insurance providers), the Obama Administration has announced that it…
By Gregory Curfman Tom Goldstein, Publisher of SCOTUSblog, has opined on why Justice Stephen Breyer apparently joined the majority opinion in Wheaton College v. Burwell, which the Court released last Thursday. The majority granted Wheaton a temporary injunction exempting the College from the contraceptive mandate, which was spawned by the Affordable Care Act and which…
By Gregory Curfman and Holly Fernandez Lynch [A quick follow up to our recent NEJM Perspective on the case, with I. Glenn Cohen] Immediately after Justice Samuel Alito’s announcement on June 30 of the majority opinion in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, the Supreme Court took further actions on the contraceptive mandate, and both supporters and opponents…
By I. Glenn Cohen, Holly Fernandez Lynch, and Gregory Curfman Check out the “hot off the press” New England Journal of Medicine Perspectives piece “When Religious Freedom Clashes with Access to Care” by Petrie-Flom Faculty Director I. Glenn Cohen, Executive Director Holly Fernandez Lynch, and NEJM Executive Editor (and PFC Faculty Affiliate), Gregory Curfman. We review the…
