Yesterday in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Trump, (ED PA, Jan 14, 2019), a Pennsylvania federal district court issued a nationwide preliminary injunction preventing enforcement of the Trump Administration’s expanded exemptions for those asserting religious or moral objections to the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive coverage mandate. In addition to finding procedural problems in the way the rules were adopted, the court concluded:
The Final Rules—just as the IFRs before them—exceed the scope of the Agencies’ authority under the ACA, and, further, cannot be justified under RFRA.
A California court issued a similar, but more limited injunction on Sunday. (See prior posting.) Washington Examiner reports on the decision.