Catholic organization files class-action lawsuit to
block HHS mandate
By Dennis Sadowski
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A coalition of nearly 200
Catholic dioceses, agencies and businesses has asked
a federal court in Oklahoma to block enforcement of
a Department of Health and Human Services mandate
that it says would force its members to violate their re-
ligious beliefs.
Under the banner of the recently formed Catholic
Benefits Association, the entities contended in a class
action lawsuit filed March 12 that the mandate’s re-
quirement that they provide health insurance coverage
for contraceptive drugs, abortifacients, surgical steril-
izations and related counseling is contrary to the First
Amendment’s free exercise, establishment and free
speech clauses.
The mandate -- under rules issued by HHS -- re-
quires nearly all employers to provide such coverage
for their employees in their company health plan. It in-
cludes a narrow exemption for some religious employ-
ers that fit certain criteria.
The lawsuit said the regulations under the Afford-
able CareAct are discriminatory because some religious
entities and ministries are exempt while others are not.
The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the
Western District of Oklahoma seeks a preliminary in-
junction to block the mandate as it applies to associa-
tion members.
Named as defendants were Kathleen Sebelius, HHS
secretary; Thomas E. Perez, secretary of the Depart-
ment of Labor; Jacob J. Lew, secretary of the Depart-
ment of the Treasury; and each of those departments.
The array of plaintiffs are the Catholic Benefit As-
sociation and its subsidiary, the Catholic Insurance Co.,
both incorporated in Oklahoma; the Archdiocese of
Oklahoma City; Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese
of Oklahoma City; All Saints Catholic School in Nor-
man, Okla.; Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore;
the Archdiocese of Baltimore; Villa St. Francis Catho-
lic Care Center, Inc. in the Archdiocese of Kansas City,
Kan.; and Good Will Publishers in Gastonia, N.C.
Attorney L. Martin Nussbaum, a partner in the law
firm Lewis Roca Rothgerber, represents the plaintiffs.
Based in Colorado Springs, Colo., he has represented
archdioceses and dioceses and various Catholic and re-
ligious entities in legal matters largely revolving around
religious freedom concerns for more than a decade.
Archbishop Lori, chairman of the association’s
board of directors, said the new organization offered
Catholic entities the best option to legally challenge the
mandate.
“The CBA gives a vehicle for many dioceses that
would not find it opportune to bring suit to do so in a
manner that has a higher possibility of success. That’s
very important. I also think it is a further expression of
our desire to promote and defend religious freedom not
just in the abstract but indeed in a very real issue that af-
fects Catholic employers and Catholic employees,” he
told
Catholic News Service
March 12.
“We will understand how to help Catholic employ-
ers to obtain morally sound insurance in the most cost
effective and least disruptive way,” he added.
In a statement released as the lawsuit was filed,Arch-
bishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City said Catholic
entities across the country objected to the mandate.
“We as Catholics, regardless of the corporate struc-
ture within which we work, cannot in good conscience
provide employees with insurance that covers contra-
ception, abortifacients and sterilization, which under-
mine the dignity of the human person and the sanctity
of human life and also jeopardizes the physical and
mental health of those who use them in untold ways,”
the statement said.
“It is my prayer that the courts will recognize that
the federal government has no clear and compelling
public interest that justifies burdening our free exercise
of religion by requiring us to pay for conscience-violat-
ing drugs and procedures,” it said.
Nussbaum told
CNS
the Catholic Benefits Associa-
tion was formed in January after months of discussions.
Its subsidiary, the Catholic Insurance Co., was incorpo-
rated shortly before the lawsuit was filed.
Nussbaum declined to comment about the case but
said the new Catholic association and insurance com-
pany were started in response to the requirements of the
Affordable Care Act and the ongoing legal cases chal-
lenging the HHS mandate filed by numerous religious
organizations.
The Catholic Benefits Association is comprised of
Catholic employers “committed to providing life-af-
firming health coverage consistent with Catholic val-
ues,” the organization’s website said.
“This is an extremely viable option to provide good
quality health care at competitive prices that is compli-
ant with Catholic teaching,” Nussbaum said of the as-
sociation’s insurance component.
Four archbishops make up the association’s board of
directors: Archbishop Coakley, Archbishop Lori, Arch-
bishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia, and Arch-
bishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle.
In addition to allowing Catholic entities to offer
health care coverage in line with church teaching, the
association also will provide legal advocacy to protect
the religious liberty of its members, the website said.
The association charges monthly dues of 50 cents
per employee with a maximum cost of $2,000 per
month. The association also adds what the website de-
scribes as a “litigation fee” of $1 per covered employee
for legal work related to lawsuit against the HHS man-
date. Again, the maximum cost is $2,000 monthly for
an association member.
“If the litigation is successful, that fee may be par-
tially refundable,” the website said.
The association’s insurance component is described
on the website as an association captive, stop-loss in-
surance company. The arrangement allows members of
the association that offer health care coverage through
an insurance carrier or self-funded medical plans to take
advantage of stop-loss insurance for unexpected costs
they may incur.
Joining such an association allows members to take
advantage of reduced costs for the same benefit pack-
age offered to employees. Having headquarters in Okla-
homa gives the association additional tax advantages,
the website said.
The association also allows Catholic entities to join
without taking advantage of the insurance component.
In a column in the March 7 issue of
The Colorado
Catholic Herald
, newspaper of the Diocese of Colora-
do Springs, Nussbaum hinted at some of the arguments
that would be part of the lawsuit. He wrote that regula-
tions governing implementation of the Affordable Care
Act “includes a seldom noted system of discriminatory
religious classifications.”
He said the health insurance law creates four classes
of organizations religiously opposed to the mandate:
those excused, those who direct a third party to provide
insurance coverage, those who are protected under the
Religious Freedom Restoration Act and those that must
provide the coverage or pay fines up to $36,000 per em-
ployee annually.
Nussbaum carefully constructed his argument, out-
lining how the religious freedom of organizations fall-
ing into each classification was being violated even as
the government determined that other religious entities
met criteria for being exempt from the mandate.
“There is a word for this classification system: dis-
crimination,” Nussbaum wrote. “It is the government
choosing religious winners and losers -- a practice dis-
credited by 1,600 years of Western history and forbid-
den in America as an establishment of religion.”
Actions for Lent
Sacrificial Steps to Save the Planet
Use cloth shopping
bags instead of
plastic or paper
Replace incandescent
light bulbs with
compact fluorescents
Replace disposable
cups with refillable
mugs
Caulk and seal
windows and doors
to save energy
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Gulf Pine Catholic
•
March 28, 2014
