Hi Hubski,

While floating around some more offbeat corners of the net, I ran across something about the Hobby Lobby decision that confused me. I decided to confirm for myself whether what was being claimed was true, and indeed I found the following passages on page 9 of the decision (page 15 in the pdf at http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/13-354_olp1.pdf, emphasis mine):

"In addition, HHS has effectively exempted certain religious nonprofit organizations, described under HHS regulations as “eligible organizations,” from the contraceptive mandate." ...

"To qualify for this accommodation, an employer must certify that it is such an organization. §147.131(b)(4). When a group-health-insurance issuer receives notice that one of its clients has invoked this provision, the issuer must then exclude contraceptive coverage from the employer’s plan and provide separate payments for contraceptive services for plan participants without imposing any cost-sharing requirements on the eligible organization, its insurance plan, or its employee beneficiaries. §147.131(c).8"

"Although this procedure requires the issuer to bear the cost of these services, HHS has determined that this obligation will not impose any net expense on issuers because its cost will be less than or equal to the cost savings resulting from the services. 78 Fed. Reg. 39877."

If I understand this correctly, the existing exemption for religious organizations (churches, religious schools etc.) still requires contraceptive services to be provided, however at the policy issuer's cost. I don't think this is consistent with how the decision is being reported.