WASHINGTON – Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Chairman Bob Good (R-VA) sent a comment letter to the Tri-Agencies (Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury) in opposition to proposed rules regarding the enforcement of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) contraceptive mandate. The Members raised several concerns, including that the Biden administration proposes to use administrative fees inappropriately to pay for contraceptive services, creates a new federal funding scheme for abortion providers, and violates Americans’ constitutional rights and religious freedoms guaranteed under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
The Members’ letter comes days after a federal judge in Texas ruled that certain ACA preventative care mandates violate the Constitution’s Appointments Clause and RFRA.
In the letter, Reps. Foxx and Good write: “The proposed rules create a new unauthorized program, deemed the ‘individual contraceptive arrangement’...Section 1311 of the ACA does not authorize any health care service to be furnished, funded, or reimbursed by the exchange user fee. Moreover, the law does not authorize the user fee to go toward a provider’s or issuer’s margins.The proposed rules estimate that about $800 million over 10 years will be transferred from the federal government to providers, issuers, and individuals."
Reps. Foxx and Good continue: “The Tri-Agencies are essentially using the ACA user fees as a slush fund to pay for contraceptive services. This will set a dangerous precedent that would allow these fees to fund virtually any type of health care service. For example, following the March 30 ruling in Braidwood Management that the PrEP coverage mandate violates individuals’ religious rights, will the accommodation process and individual contraceptive arrangement be used to fund free access to PrEP drugs?”
Reps. Foxx and Good conclude: “The Tri-Agencies’ claims that they are not required to maintain an exemption for moral conscience objections is false. Under no circumstances may the federal government violate the constitutional rights or religious freedoms of any American citizen or organization. The proposed rules flagrantly violate current law and Americans’ rights. They create an unauthorized program paid for by an Obamacare slush fund to further the radical agenda of abortion supporters. In doing so, they violate constitutional and religious rights.”
