Supreme Court: Ruling by Monday, Could Settle Health-Care Act's Contraception Dilemma

The Supreme Court in coming days is expected to decide on a challenge to an Affordable Care Act requirement in a ruling that could shape how much leeway the owners of for-profit enterprises have in exercising their religious beliefs.

The high court by Monday will decide whether Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp.—owned by evangelical Christian and Mennonite families, respectively—must abide by the health law's requirement to cover all contraceptives approved by the Food and Drug Administration in workers' health plans without charging copayments. The firms say the requirement violates their religious rights because it includes the so-called morning-after pill and certain intrauterine devices, which the owners liken to abortion.

The decision, which comes two years after the justices upheld most of the 2010 health law, may settle the issue for a batch of religiously owned firms that say the legal battle has left their insurance offerings in limbo. Forty for-profit employers won injunctions against enforcement of the requirement, but others that didn't file lawsuits or weren't able to get a temporary reprieve are in some cases complying for now and hoping workers will simply not use the contraception coverage.

John Kennedy, a Roman Catholic president and chief executive of two Michigan manufacturing companies, objects to most forms of contraception and didn't want to include them in his plan that covers about 600 workers. If he purposely omitted them, he would face a fine of $100 per worker per day that applies to employers offering insurance that purposely doesn't comply with federal rules. His other option would be dropping the health plan completely.

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