As I wrote last week, I waited with bated breath over the weekend for the last of the Supreme Court decisions for the 2013-14 term to be issued. And the dearth of air was worth the wait.
In a decision that many have been waiting for since last Fall, the Supreme Court today finally dealt a blow to Obamacare while giving a boost to freedom for small business. To be sure, the decision in the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby case is not a complete victory, but it takes a sizable chink out of the Obamacare armor.
The facts of the Hobby Lobby case are relatively well known to anyone with a pulse and who has paid even a modicum of attention for the last two years. To recap, one of the provisions of Obamacare is that nearly all group health plans must cover a detailed list of “essential health benefits.” Most businesses do not have any problem with nine of the ten categories on the list. However, the category of “women’s preventive services” contains a grouping of services that includes contraception, sterilization, and any drug approved by the FDA to prevent pregnancy. Many religious nonprofit organizations object to some or all three of these items, and they have been given a two options that the government says must suffice. Law suits have been filed in those cases as well, and they were not resolved by today’s ruling.
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