Constitutional : Affordable Care Act – Contraceptive Mandate – Substantial Burden

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Where Missouri religious non-profit corporations that offered healthcare services to employees through a self-insured plan challenged accommodation regulations that allow organizations to opt out of the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate, arguing that they must still submit a document that they believed wrongfully facilitated the delivery of contraceptive coverage, the district court properly granted injunctive relief to the non-profit corporations because the accommodation process substantially burdened their religious beliefs.

Judgment is affirmed.

Sharpe Holdings, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (MLW No. 68323/Case No. 14-1507 – 25 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8^th Circuit, Wollman, J.) Appealed from U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, Noce, J. (Patrick Nemeroff, Washington, D.C., argued for appellant; Mark B. Stern, Alisa Beth Klein, Beth S. Brinkmann, Adam C. Jed and Joshua Marc Salzman appeared on the brief) (Timothy Belz, St. Louis, argued for appellee; J. Matthew Belz appeared on the brief).

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