ACA wends its way back to the Supreme Court

he U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear oral arguments on religious exemptions to the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) requirement that employers cover birth control in their healthcare plans. Sixteen attorneys general filed an amicus (friend-of-the-court) brief with the Court in which they argued that forcing companies with religious objections to birth control to pay for it violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).

The case marks the third time the Supreme Court has heard arguments involving the ACA's birth control mandate. The first case, Hobby Lobby, questioned whether the RFRA allows for-profit companies to deny employees birth control based on religious objections. The Court found that forcing people who run closely held for-profit businesses and believe birth control is akin to abortion creates an undue burden. In the second case, Zubik, the Court directed the parties to reach a compromise, but the district court blocked nationwide implementation of the parties' solution, leaving them no closer to an answer.

How did we get here?

The most recent case began when the Trump administration attempted to create exemptions to the birth control mandate for employers with religious and moral objections to providing birth control for their employees. Before the carveouts could take effect, Judge Wendy Beetlestone of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued a nationwide injunction blocking them.