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Full-Text Articles in Law

"Rfra Exemptions From The Contraception Mandate: An Unconstitutional Accommodation Of Religion", Frederick Mark Gedicks, Rebecca G. Van Tassell Sep 2013

"Rfra Exemptions From The Contraception Mandate: An Unconstitutional Accommodation Of Religion", Frederick Mark Gedicks, Rebecca G. Van Tassell

Frederick Mark Gedicks

Litigation surrounding use of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to exempt employers from the Affordable Care Act’s “contraception mandate” is moving steadily towards eventual resolution in the U.S. Supreme Court. Both opponents and supporters of the mandate, however, have overlooked Establishment Clause limits on such exemptions. The fiery religious-liberty rhetoric surrounding the mandate has obscured that RFRA is a “permissive” rather than “mandatory” accommodation of religion—that is, a voluntary government concession to religious belief and practice that is not required by the Free Exercise Clause. Permissive accommodations must satisfy Establishment Clause constraints, notably the requirement that the accommodation not impose …


It’S A Mistake: Insurer Cost Cutting, Insurer Liability And The Lack Of Erisa Preemption Within The Individual Exchanges, Christopher R. Smith Aug 2013

It’S A Mistake: Insurer Cost Cutting, Insurer Liability And The Lack Of Erisa Preemption Within The Individual Exchanges, Christopher R. Smith

Christopher R Smith

Within the new individual health insurance exchanges, ERISA preemption is inapplicable to State tort claims against individual exchange insurers, framing the question of whether or not individual exchange insurers, like employment-based insurers, should be protected from State tort liability. While there should be concern for an insurer’s ability to effectively manage costs and eliminate waste, beneficiaries should also have some sort of remedy against their insurer, when insurer cost cutting results in beneficiary harm. To balance the competing interests, a no-fault liability system should be adopted providing both limited liability for individual exchange insurers and preservation of injured beneficiaries’ remedies.


Waging War On Specialty Pharmaceutical Tiering In Pharmacy Benefit Design, Chad I. Brooker May 2013

Waging War On Specialty Pharmaceutical Tiering In Pharmacy Benefit Design, Chad I. Brooker

Chad I Brooker

Specialty drugs represent a growing concern for both health insurance issuers and beneficiaries given their exceedingly high (and growing) costs—representing almost half of all drug spend by 2017. Payers have sought to reduce their specialty drug spend by sharing more of the cost of these drugs with the beneficiaries who depend on them through the creation of specialty drug tiers. This has forced some patients to choose between forgoing other needs to pay for their medications or not take them at all. While several states have sought to outlaw the use of specialty drug tiers or limit pharmaceutical OOP cost-sharing, …