In June, the Department of Health and Human Services issued final rules providing a compromise for religiously sponsored non-profits such as hospitals and colleges that object to the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive coverage mandate. (See
prior posting.) The Becket Fund
announced yesterday that a lawsuit challenging these revised rules has been filed by Colorado Christian University whose attempt last year to challenge the mandate
was dismissed on ripeness grounds. The complaint (
full text) in
Colorado Christian University v. Sebelius, (D CO, filed 8/7/2013) contends that the final compromise is "meaningless," saying in part:
147. In sum, for both insured and self-insured organizations, the accommodation is nothing more than a shell game that attempts to disguise the religious organization’s role as the central cog in the government’s scheme for expanding access to contraceptive and abortifacient services.
148. Despite the accommodation’s convoluted machinations, a religious organization’s decision to offer health insurance and its self-certification continue to serve as the sole triggers for creating access to free contraceptive and abortifacient services.
