SCOTUS Ruling Unites Nurses, PCP, And Specialists
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
Solidarity among segments of healthcare providers demonstrates opposition to Hobby Lobby ruling.
The Supreme Court, as reported by the Huffington Post, delivered a blow to universal birth control coverage this week, ruling that closely-held corporations can refuse to cover contraception in their health plans for religious reasons.
The decision in a deeply divisive contraceptive case pitting advocates of religious liberty against women’s rights groups means that two for profit corporations with sincerely held religious beliefs do not have to provide a full range of contraceptives at no cost to their employees pursuant to the Affordable Care Act. More importantly, perhaps, it served to unite nurses, primary-care physicians, and specialists in a rare instance of solidarity.
In a 5-4 opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito, the court held that, as applied to closely held corporations, the Health and Human Services regulations imposing the contraceptive mandate violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Alito was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Antonin Scalia, and Justice Clarence Thomas. Justice Anthony Kennedy filed a concurring opinion.
Frontline healthcare practitioners condemned in strong terms the high court's ruling in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, saying closely held private companies should not have to provide insurance coverage for four types of contraceptives to which company owners have religious objections.
The ruling elicited immediate criticism from by the American Medical Association, the American Nurses Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for allowing employers to meddle in the exam room.
A statement from the ANA argues, “When employers are allowed to interfere with private health care decisions, it endangers the health and well-being of employees and the general public. ANA calls upon the federal government to act quickly to provide needed access to the services that will be denied because of this ruling.”
A statement released by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists President John C. Jennings also expressed disappointment over the court’s ruling. It read, “This decision inappropriately allows employers to interfere in women’s health care decisions. All health care decisions – including decisions about contraception – should be made by a woman and her doctor, based on the patient’s needs and her current health. Her employer’s religious beliefs should not overrule her doctor’s advice.”
Further, the ACOG statement asserted, “Moving past this decision, we will remain vigilant about state legislators who may feel emboldened by the Court’s actions. State lawmakers must not see this decision as a green light to roll back essential insurance coverage gains made across the states over the past two decades. Women's physicians will continue to stand in strong support of state laws guaranteeing equitable coverage for our patients’ health care needs.”
The decision "intrudes on the patient-physician relationship and will make it more difficult for many women to make their own personal medical decisions," says AMA President Robert Wah, adding, "We encourage the administration to provide alternative pathways to secure coverage for patients unable to obtain these services as a result of the court's ruling."
The above groups, among others, are each urged officials in Washington to work quickly to restore coverage options for all insured women, saying that limiting insurance coverage would force women to take additional steps or pay out of pocket for birth control—which affects low-income women in particular.