On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Warren Urbom dismissed a lawsuit brought by seven states against the contraception mandate. The judge concluded that the states could not sue to block the mentioned portion of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 as they did not face immediate harm and thus lacked sufficient cause of action. The controversial and much publicized portion of the Act requires employers to include free birth control in their healthcare programs.
Texas, Ohio, and Florida placed arguments that the objectionable portion of the Affordable Care Act threatened their budgets by encouraging religious employers to stop providing health insurance coverage to their employees. They contended that it would increase the states' burden of shouldering increasing Medicaid programs.
However, the judge concluded that the alleged harms were remote and hypothetical. The judge also mentioned that the federal government has created an exemption for religious employers and that insurance companies would cover the cost. In addition, it was mentioned that enforcement of the rule has been delayed until August 1, 2013 while the Department of Health and Human Services considers accommodating the issue of religious employers.
The judge also found that “There are no allegations of direct injuries resulting from the Rule; instead, the State plaintiffs only speculate that third parties will respond to the Rule in such a way that the State's budgets will ultimately be strained.”
In May, Jones Day had filed 12 suits in courts across the country: The Nebraska case is the first to be dismissed by a federal judge.
The case is State of Nebraska et al v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services et al, U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska, No. 4:12-cv-3035.
