The University of Notre Dame, along with more than 40 other Roman Catholic institutions has filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration (US Department of Health and Human Resources). They state that the recent national health care reform mandate that requires health insurance plans to cover contraception, morning-after pills and other controversial items are contrary to traditional Catholic teaching. And many other colleges agree.

This suit was one of 12 different lawsuits that were filed. In part, it claims that new Health and Human Services rules violate religious-liberty rights protected by the First Amendment. And ironically, two years ago, it was President Obama who gave the commencement speech at Notre Dame. We assume he will not be invited back! And ironically, he openly stated (kiddingly, we assume) that he does not like ND’s women’s basketball uniforms!

Earlier this year, Father Ryan McCarthy of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis stated what many Catholics in Indiana believe. He said it is “not a health issue…but a religious freedom issue.” He also said that if forced to participate, it would “violate our freedom of religion.” Other hospitals and universities in the Hoosier state have also voiced their concern over this mandate. And other states have  joined including the Washington and New York Archdioceses.

There are certain scenarios where companies and religious organizations can possibly be excluded from having to comply with these mandates. But the reasoning behind these scenarios has many people scratching their head.

For any Indiana organization to receive an exemption, they must primarily employ workers that are their own faith. Thus, if you have 25 Catholics and 26 non-Catholics on your payroll, you will not meet the requirements. And oddly, the services you perform must benefit your own followers as opposed to the general public. This “conscience law” is clearly quite controversial.

As an example, if you are a Catholic organization and you provide food and shelter (and many other services) for everyone (instead of just your own parishioners), you would not qualify for the exemption. The last time I checked, Mother Teresa never asked anyone what their religion was before she helped them. Can you imagine her telling someone that she can not aid them because they are not Catholic? Of course not.

And the fallout may just be beginning. Within the last two weeks, two Catholic universities have decided to drop their student health coverage. This week, Ava Maria University in Florida, joined Ohio’s Franciscan University in eliminating their plans. More schools are expected to take similar steps. Of course, private insurers will be able to offer coverage to the vast majority of these students. You can read about those options and view rates here.

Indiana health insurance companies are expected to raise premiums this year on most medical plans when they must offer recommended contraceptive services without any deductibles, copays or waiting periods. Currently, there are some out of pocket expenses that consumers must pay. Therefore, everyone’s rate may be increasing. This mandate goes into effect on August 1 of this year. However, some nonprofit entities will have until August 1, 2013 to become compliant.

In October, Open Enrollment will commence for 2014 plans when Obamacare goes into full-effect. It is expected that most consumers will pay a higher premium for their healthcare compared to previous years.

Tags: Indiana contraception mandate, Notre Dame sues mandate