The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked for more information about how employees of religious nonprofits could get birth control coverage without their employers getting involved at all.
The justices last week heard oral arguments in Zubik v. Burwell, a case in which 37 religious nonprofits such as Little Sisters of the Poor and Notre Dame University are challenging Obamacare’s mandate that employers must provide birth control coverage. The Obama administration has created a workaround in which the insurer pays for the coverage instead of the employer, but the groups say the accommodation violates their religious beliefs against contraception since it’s still covered under their plans.
Under Obamacare’s accommodation, groups that want an accommodation must submit a form to their insurer or the government stating their objections.
The justices in their order want to know whether the contraceptive coverage could be provided through insurance companies without the employers having to fill out the form. The parties have until April 12 to file their responses.
