Appeals Court to Rule on Health Care Law Provisions - East Idaho News
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Appeals Court to Rule on Health Care Law Provisions

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GETTY N 110211 LawGavelCourt?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1354008747255Hemera/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — It’s possible the U.S. Supreme Court isn’t done with the Affordable Care Act just yet.

After ruling last June that the law, otherwise known as “Obamacare,” was constitutional, the high court gave its opponents some new life on Monday by ordering the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals to determine whether the Affordable Care Act’s employer requirements and mandatory coverage of contraceptives without a co-pay should stand.

Liberty University, a Christian institution in Virginia, argued successfully that the Supreme Court’s decision did not deal with these provisions.

Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, which represents Liberty University, said that should the 4th Circuit not agree to hear the case next spring, it would be bounced back to the high court.

Lawyers for Liberty University contend that Congress was wrong to have made it mandatory for businesses with more than 50 full-time employees to provide health insurance for their workers or face financial penalties.

The school also disagrees with the mandatory coverage of contraceptives because it means businesses would also have to fund abortions.

The White House says that while the arguments “lack merit,” it would not object to the appeals court hearing the case.

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