The Trump administration’s revision of federal rules requiring contraception coverage grants employers the ability to impose their religious beliefs on their employees and employees’ dependents, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey’s office says in a federal court filing.
A copy of the lawsuit, filed late Friday in federal court, is available below.
The lawsuit says several Massachusetts employers will qualify and likely claim the exemption created by the Trump administration’s new rules, causing a loss of contraception coverage because the employers will be able to opt out of providing the coverage.
“Some Massachusetts women who lose some or all of their employer-sponsored contraceptive coverage will be eligible to receive state-subsidized contraceptive care,” the lawsuit says.
“Some Massachusetts women will qualify for MassHealth and will utilize that coverage as a secondary payer for contraceptive care and services. Massachusetts will be required to pay a portion of the costs for this care,” the lawsuit added.
Others will decline to use birth control due to the loss of coverage making it unaffordable, according to the suit.
“As a result, Massachusetts will see an increase in unintended pregnancies and other negative health outcomes which will impose direct costs on the Commonwealth,” the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit asks for a preliminary and permanent injunction to prevent the rules from going into effect. The Trump administration did not follow the process for revising rules, and is promoting religious interests over women’s autonomy, the lawsuit alleges.
The Trump administration’s “expanded exemptions selectively target women by nullifying provisions of the ACA intended by Congress to guarantee women equal access to preventive medicine,” the lawsuit says.
A court date has not yet been scheduled.
Source: www.masslive.com
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