July 16, 2014 – Supreme Court and ACA

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Anchor lead:  What are the biggest objections in the medical community to the Supreme Court’s decisions related to contraceptive coverage? Elizabeth Tracey reports

If you’re a woman living in the United States, the recent Supreme Court decision to allow Hobby Lobby to opt out of contraceptive coverage for their employees has likely been prominent on your radar, even if the issue doesn’t specifically affect you.  It’s also prominent in medical circles.  Amy Tsui, a family planning expert at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, expresses her concerns.

Tsui: I think the biggest harm to me is that this is a situation where the court sided on behalf of a privately held corporation that went against federal law, the birth control coverage in insurance arrangements is federally mandated.  The adverse opinion was most egregious in that regard because federal law can then be manipulated in other ways too.   :23

Tsui is especially chagrined that the court also ruled in favor of a religiously based college to opt out, and questions the erosion of the barrier between church and state, especially concerning public health matters.  At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.