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Attorney General Madigan Joins 19 Attorneys General to File Amicus Brief Opposing Roll-back of Contraception Coverage Mandate


Contraceptives
According to interim rules, contraceptives may not be covered in health insurance plans based on religious beliefs of employer (Photo: ALAMY)

Chicago—(ENEWSPF)—November 28, 2017

By: Rosemary Piser

A coalition of 20 U.S. Attorneys General, including IL Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed an amicus brief today in support of  Pennsylvania’s lawsuit to stop the federal government’s roll-back of an Affordable Care Act (ACA, “Obamacare” ) mandate that employee health insurance plans cover contraceptive care.

The Attorneys General argue that the government’s interim final rules are unconstitutional because they allow the federal government to prioritize certain religious beliefs over a woman’s right to make choices about her own health care. These interim rules announced in October allow any employer with a religious or moral objection to contraception to preclude their employees, and employees’ dependents, from receiving health insurance coverage for contraceptive care and services.

Attorney General Madigan said, “Health care decisions should be made by a woman and her doctor – not by her employer or the government. I filed this brief because women should have coverage for contraception as part of their health care.”

Joining Madigan in today’s amicus brief are the Attorneys General of California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia.

Background

Since the enactment of ACA (Obamacare) in 2010, most employers who provide health insurance to their employees have been required to include coverage for contraception, at no cost to the employee. As a result of this ACA mandate, more than 55 million women in the United States have access to contraceptive care with no out-of-pocket costs. While Illinois law requires insurance plans to cover contraceptive services, 63 percent of private sector employees in Illinois are enrolled in a plan that is not covered by the Illinois law and are at risk of losing their contraceptive coverage if their employer chooses to remove it.

A copy of the amicus brief is available here.

Source: www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov


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