On July 8, 2020, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) that exempts employers with religious and conscientious objections from providing employees healthcare coverage for contraception, is lawful. After the ACA was passed, the final rules required employers to provide employees healthcare plans that include contraception coverage or “preventive care and screenings.” This requirement is known as the contraceptive mandate. Several religious employers expressed concerns of the mandate infringing upon their right to religious freedom. In response, the United States Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury implemented an exemption from the contraceptive mandate to protect employers with religious objections, such as churches, nonprofit organizations, and other religious associations or entities. The Court held that the United States Departments that promulgated the rules for exemption from the contraceptive mandate had the authority to do so and that the rules created for this exemption are procedurally valid.

For the full text of the opinion, please click here.