Posted on 12/15/2017 12:13:15 PM PST by Oshkalaboomboom
I have to say, any sentence that starts with the words "Judge Wendy" is very hard to take seriously.
They just keep trying....SCOTUS needs to put a definitive end to this crap
Ultimately, this will be another opportunity for SCOTUS to get it right...but I won’t hold my breath!!
Obviously, there would--and should--be an objection to this practice from the Left. And Trump could negotiate a truce where the Judges quit doing the same crap to him, or he will continue to also ignore the Constitution and do it to them.
Judge Wendy Beetlestone is a shockingly evil woman who has directly violated the Constitution and her duty as a judge. The idea of the state suffering serious and irreparable harm in the absence of the power to compel people to violate their God-given right to freedom of religion is absurd. I hope she will be impeached, removed from office, shunned by all decent people, including her family, and left isolated to contemplate her guilt. I pray she will find God and repent, but failing that I would be happy to see her receive justice without God’s mercy.
The left is begging for civil war and death....... it is going to happen
Unless the left are convicted by the tens of thousands and executed or imprisoned by the tens of thousands
No kumbaya......
Judge Wendy Beetlestone
The democrat party tried the civil war thing in 1860 and lost. This time around they won’t find the terms of surrender to be anywhere near as nice.
Should have hanged the democrat leadership North and South on the National Mall in 1865, and outlawed the party.
Start another one and there will be no quarter, no mercy for any democrat or any supporter of their cause.
ACTUALLY, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act does not mandate birth control.
The mandates are clearly identified in §1302:
(b) Essential Health Benefits.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary shall define the essential health benefits, except that such benefits shall include at least the following general categories and the items and services covered within the categories:
(A) Ambulatory patient services.
(B) Emergency services.
(C) Hospitalization.
(D) Maternity and newborn care.
(E) Mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment.
(F) Prescription drugs.
(G) Rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices.
(H) Laboratory services.
(I) Preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management.
(J) Pediatric services, including oral and vision care.
(2) Limitation.--
(A) In general.-- The <> Secretary shall ensure that the scope of the essential health benefits under paragraph (1) is equal to the scope of benefits provided under a typical employer plan, as determined by the Secretary. To <> inform this determination, the Secretary of Labor shall conduct a survey of employer-sponsored coverage to determine the benefits typically covered by employers, including multiemployer plans, and provide a report on such survey to the Secretary.
(B) Certification.--In <> defining the essential health benefits described in paragraph (1), and in revising the benefits under paragraph (4)(H), the Secretary shall submit a report to the appropriate committees of Congress containing a certification from the Chief Actuary of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that such essential health benefits meet the limitation described in paragraph (2).
(3) Notice and hearing.--In defining the essential health benefits described in paragraph (1), and in revising the benefits under paragraph (4)(H), the Secretary shall provide notice and an opportunity for public comment.
(4) Required elements for consideration.--In defining the essential health benefits under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall--
(A) ensure that such essential health benefits reflect an appropriate balance among the categories described in such subsection, so that benefits are not unduly weighted toward any category;
(B) not make coverage decisions, determine reimbursement rates, establish incentive programs, or design benefits in ways that discriminate against individuals because of their age, disability, or expected length of life;
(C) take into account the health care needs of diverse segments of the population, including women, children, persons with disabilities, and other groups;
(D) ensure that health benefits established as essential not be subject to denial to individuals against their wishes on the basis of the individuals' age or expected length of life or of the individuals' present or predicted disability, degree of medical dependency, or quality of life;
(E) provide that a qualified health plan shall not be treated as providing coverage for the essential health benefits described in paragraph (1) unless the plan provides that--
(i) coverage for emergency department services will be provided without imposing any requirement under the plan for prior authorization of services or any limitation on coverage where the provider of services does not have a contractual relationship with the plan for the providing of services that is more restrictive than the requirements or limitations that apply to emergency department services received from providers who do have such a contractual relationship with the plan; and
(ii) if such services are provided out-of- network, the cost-sharing requirement (expressed as a copayment amount or coinsurance rate) is the same requirement that would apply if such services were provided in-network;
(F) provide that if a plan described in section 1311(b)(2)(B)(ii) (relating to stand-alone dental benefits plans) is offered through an Exchange, another health plan offered through such Exchange shall not fail to be treated as a qualified health plan solely because the plan does not offer coverage of benefits offered through the stand-alone plan that are otherwise required under paragraph (1)(J); and
(G) periodically review the essential health benefits under paragraph (1), and provide a report to Congress and the public that contains--
(i) an assessment of whether enrollees are facing any difficulty accessing needed services for reasons of coverage or cost;
(ii) an assessment of whether the essential health benefits needs to be modified or updated to account for changes in medical evidence or scientific advancement;
(iii) information on how the essential health benefits will be modified to address any such gaps in access or changes in the evidence base;
(iv) an assessment of the potential of additional or expanded benefits to increase costs and the interactions between the addition or expansion of benefits and reductions in existing benefits to meet actuarial limitations described in paragraph (2); and
(H) periodically update the essential health benefits under paragraph (1) to address any gaps in access to coverage or changes in the evidence base the Secretary identifies in the review conducted under subparagraph (G).
(5) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this title shall be construed to prohibit a health plan from providing benefits in excess of the essential health benefits described in this subsection.
As you can see, neither birth control nor abortion are mentioned in this section. If you click on the law itself and search on the terms:
You will see that those words do not exist anywhere in the law. At the top of §1302, you will see the key words, the Secretary shall define the essential health benefits -- in other words, the so-called "Obamacare birth control requirement" is nothing of the type -- it is, in fact, a mere part of a regulation that was pushed out by Sebellius. She was the one who, by law, defined what constituted "essential health benefits." The law explicitly states that "the Secretary shall..." meaning that any HHS Secretary can redefine the list as he/she sees fit.
Bottom line, this "religious / moral exception" is a bunch of BS.
What Eric D. Hargan (acting Secretary of HHS) should be directed to do is publish the following letter, very quietly, in the Federal Register:
In accordance with §1302(b)(1) of PL 111-148, the Secretary has determined that the following are essential health benefits:
- yada
- yada
- yada
And just leave birth control and abortion off the list.
If an employer wants to pay for birth control and abortion, they are welcome to do so (see §1302(b)(5)). If they don't want to do so, they aren't required to do so.
If an insurer wishes to include that on their individual health insurance offered through the "exchange", they can do so. If not, then so be it.
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