No. 15-775 In the Supreme Court of the United States DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, ET AL., PETITIONERS v. CNS INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES AND HEARTLAND CHRISTIAN COLLEGE ON PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI DONALD B. VERRILLI, JR. Solicitor General Counsel of Record BENJAMIN C. MIZER Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General IAN HEATH GERSHENGORN EDWIN S. KNEEDLER Deputy Solicitors General BRIAN H. FLETCHER Assistant to the Solicitor General MARK B. STERN ALISA B. KLEIN ADAM C. JED PATRICK G. NEMEROFF MEGAN BARBERO JOSHUA M. SALZMAN Attorneys Department of Justice Washington, D.C. 20530-0001
[email protected] (202) 514-2217 QUESTION PRESENTED Under federal law, health insurers and employer- sponsored group health plans generally must cover certain preventive health services, including contra- ceptive services prescribed for women by their doc- tors. Respondents object to providing contraceptive coverage on religious grounds and are eligible for a regulatory accommodation that would allow them to opt out of the contraceptive-coverage requirement. The court of appeals held, however, that the accom- modation itself violates the Religious Freedom Resto- ration Act of 1993 (RFRA), 42 U.S.C. 2000bb et seq., by requiring third parties to provide respondents’ employees and their beneficiaries with separate con- traceptive coverage after respondents opt out. The question presented is: Whether RFRA entitles respondents not only to opt out of providing contraceptive coverage them- selves, but also to prevent the government from ar- ranging for third parties to provide separate coverage to the affected women.