Michigan Excludes Some Religious Employers From Health Plan Requirement

The Michigan Civil Rights Commission yesterday ruled Michigan employers that provide prescription drug plans to their employees cannot exclude coverage for federally approved prescription contraceptive drugs and devices. The Associated Press reports, however, that the ruling excludes religious employers from the requirement. Exempt groups are nonprofit organizations that primarily employ and serve people who share the same religious tenets as the employer. However the exclusion does not cover employee plans offered by religiously affiliated hospitals and social service agency that serve the general public. The ruling made under the state's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act covers small businesses that are excluded from a similar U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruling.