Catholic Benefits Ass'n LCA v. Sebelius
| Decision Date | 04 June 2014 |
| Docket Number | Case No. CIV–14–240–R. |
| Citation | 24 F.Supp.3d 1094 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Oklahoma |
| Parties | The CATHOLIC BENEFITS ASSOCIATION LCA, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Kathleen SEBELIUS, in her official capacity as Secretary, United States Department of Health and Human Services, et al., Defendants. |
J. Angela Ables, Johnny R. Blassingame, Jr., Kerr Irvine Rhodes & Ables, Oklahoma City, OK, Eric N. Kniffin, Lewis Roca Rothgerber LLP, Ian S. Speir, L. Martin Nussbaum, Lewis Roca Rothgerber LLP, Colorado Springs, CO, for Plaintiffs.
Bradley P. Humphreys, U.S. Attorney's Office, Washington, DC, Brady R. Henderson, ACL of Oklahoma Foundation, Oklahoma City, OK, for Defendants.
Before the Court is Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction. Doc. No. 4. Defendants have filed their response to this motion, and Plaintiffs have filed their reply to Defendants' response. The American Civil Liberties Union has also filed an amicus brief opposing Plaintiffs' motion. On May 8, 2014, the Court heard oral argument pertaining to the issues raised by the parties' briefs. Following oral argument, the Court granted Defendants time in which to file a supplemental brief concerning a particular issue that was raised by Plaintiffs for the first time in their reply brief. Having considered all of the above, as well as the relevant legal authority that is developing across the country, Plaintiffs' motion is DENIED in part, and GRANTED in part.
This motion stems from an action challenging a provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)1 and the regulations issued under it, which mandate that certain employers provide health coverage for contraceptives to their employees, or face crippling fines for failing to do so. Plaintiffs are a number of entities that readily identify with the Catholic Church and adhere to its teachings, and they assert that the contraceptive mandate violates their sincerely held religious beliefs. Plaintiffs have brought this action against Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services,2 along with other government officials and agencies, advancing a number of statutory and constitutional challenges to the contraceptive mandate. In the present motion, Plaintiffs seek a preliminary injunction against Defendants' collective ability to enforce the contraceptive mandate against them, basing their motion upon the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and the Establishment Clause. Plaintiffs also seek preliminary injunctive relief extending beyond the named parties in order to protect a putative class of similarly situated entities.
Plaintiffs are The Catholic Benefits Association LCA (CBA), The Catholic Insurance Company (CIC), The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City (Archdiocese of Oklahoma City), Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, Inc. (Catholic Charities), All Saints Catholic School, Inc. (All Saints), Archbishop William E. Lori, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore and His Successors in Office (Archdiocese of Baltimore), The Cathedral Foundation, Inc. d/b/a/ Catholic Review Media (Catholic Review Media), Villa St. Francis Catholic Care Center, Inc. (Villa St. Francis), and Good Will Publishers, Inc. (Good Will Publishers). Plaintiffs are heavily associated with the Catholic Church, and they adhere to Catholic teachings regarding contraception, abortion, and sterilization, which counsel against the use of any artificial interference with the creation and nurture of new life. Therefore, Plaintiffs all religiously object to contraception, abortion-inducing drugs and devices, surgical abortion, sterilization, and related counseling.
Under 42 U.S.C. § 300gg–13(a)(4), certain employer health plans must cover “preventive care and screenings” for women. Based upon the guidelines adopted by the Health Resources and Services Administration, “preventive care” includes “[a]ll Food and Drug Administration approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling for all women with reproductive capacity.”3 Health Resources & Services Administration, “Women's Preventive Services Guidelines,” www.hrsa.gov/womens guidelines (last visited June 3, 2014). If an employer subject to the contraceptive mandate fails to provide the required contraceptive coverage in its health plan, then the employer faces fines of $100 per day per employee, or in other words, up to $36,500 per year per employee.See 26 U.S.C. § 4980D(b)(1). Further, if the employer fails to provide any health plan whatsoever to its employees, the employer faces fines of $2,000 per year per full time employee (less 30 employees). Id. § 4980H(a), (c)(1).
The regulations issued under the contraceptive mandate operate to exempt certain employers, as well as provide an accommodation for other non-exempt employers. Under 45 C.F.R. § 147.131(a), “religious employers” are exempted from the contraceptive mandate. For purposes of the regulations, “religious employer” is narrowly defined as a nonprofit entity referred to in 26 U.S.C. § 6033(a)(3)(A)(i) or (iii). See 45 C.F.R. § 147.131(a) ; 78 Fed.Reg. 39,870, 39,874. The groups referred to in 26 U.S.C. § 6033(a)(3)(A)(i) and (iii) include “churches, their integrated auxiliaries, and conventions or associations of churches,” and “the exclusively religious activities of any religious order.”
The regulations further provide for an accommodation for certain non-exempt employers who do not want to provide coverage for the required contraceptive services based upon religious objections. A non-exempt employer is eligible for this so-called accommodation if it satisfies the following requirements: (1) it opposes providing coverage for some or all of the required contraceptive services due to religious objections; (2) it is a nonprofit entity; (3) it “holds itself out as a religious organization;” and (4) it “self-certifies, in a form and manner specified by the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Labor, that it satisfies the [previous three] criteria.” 26 C.F.R. § 54.9815–2713A(a) ; 29 C.F.R. § 2590.715–2713A(a) ; 45 C.F.R. § 147.131(b) ; 78 Fed.Reg. at 39,874.
In order to meet this last requirement, self-certification, an employer must execute and deliver EBSA Form 700 to its issuer, or if the employer has a self-insured health plan, to its third-party administrator (TPA). 26 C.F.R. § 54.9815–2713A(b) –(c) ; 29 C.F.R. § 2590.715–2713A(b) –(c) ; 45 C.F.R. § 147.131(c) ; 78 Fed.Reg. at 39,878 –79. If a nonprofit religious employer executes and delivers EBSA Form 700 to its issuer or TPA, the issuer or TPA must then provide notice to the employer's employees of the availability of contraceptive services free of charge, as well as provide contraceptive services to these employees. 26 C.F.R. § 54.9815–2713A(b) –(d) ; 29 C.F.R. § 2590.715–2713A(b) –(d) ; 45 C.F.R. § 147.131(c) -(d) ; 78 Fed.Reg. at 39,878 –80.
Based upon the differences in their characteristics, as well as the way the exemption and the accommodation work, Plaintiffs in this case can be divided into several groups. First, both the CBA and the CIC are not directly regulated by the contraceptive mandate. The CBA is an Oklahoma nonprofit limited cooperative association, which was organized in relevant part to assist Catholic employers in providing health benefits to their respective employees in a manner consistent with Catholic values. The CBA incorporated the CIC, an Oklahoma for-profit insurance company, whose purpose is to provide stop loss insurance to members of the CBA in a manner consistent with Catholic values.
The remaining Plaintiffs are employers that are members of the CBA. These Plaintiffs all either sponsor or participate in health plans that provide medical benefits to their employees, and with one exception,4 none of their health plans provide coverage for any contraceptive services. Certain Plaintiffs, classified by the Court as Group I Plaintiffs, meet the “religious employer” definition in the regulations and are exempted from the contraceptive mandate. The Group I Plaintiffs include the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the Archdiocese of Baltimore.5 Other Plaintiffs, classified by the Court as Group II Plaintiffs, qualify for the accommodation as nonprofit religious organizations that object to providing coverage for contraceptive services in their health plans based upon their religious views. The Group II Plaintiffs include Catholic Charities, All Saints, Catholic Review Media, and Villa St. Francis. Finally, Good Will Publishers, classified by the Court as the Group III Plaintiff, is a for-profit corporation, and it neither fits into the exemption nor qualifies for the accommodation.
Plaintiffs collectively assert that the Court should enter a preliminary injunction in this case, because the challenged provisions of the ACA violate their rights under RFRA and the Establishment Clause. In response, Defendants argue that a preliminary injunction in this case would be improper both because certain Plaintiffs lack constitutional standing, and also because Plaintiffs cannot establish the various requirements for obtaining a preliminary injunction.
Defendants first assert that three of the Plaintiffs—Good Will Publishers, the CBA, and the CIC—lack constitutional standing. “[T]he irreducible constitutional minimum of standing contains three elements.” Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992). “[A] plaintiff must show an injury that is [1] concrete, particularized, and actual or imminent; [2] fairly traceable to the challenged action; and [3] redressable by a favorable ruling.” Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. v. Sebelius, 723 F.3d 1114, 1126 (10th Cir.2013) (quotation omitted) (internal quotation marks omitted).
Defendants argue that Good Will Publishers lacks standing due to its inability to show that a favorable ruling would redress its purported...
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