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Apply to Serve on NFPRHA’s State Advocacy Strategies Taskforce
In early January, as many statehouses across the country convene, NFPRHA anticipates several legislatures will introduce bills designed to dismantle various components of the publicly funded family planning safety network. NFPRHA hopes to prepare its members for difficult state legislative sessions by convening its first State Advocacy Strategies Taskforce, designed to help members engage in peer-to-peer conversations about defeating harmful legislation and advancing proactive policies. The Taskforce will meet by conference call for 90 minutes approximately every six weeks beginning in early January and ending in June. Any employee of a NFPRHA member institution is eligible to apply. For consideration, please complete this short application. The application will help NFPRHA understand the unique challenges and opportunities our members will likely encounter in upcoming legislative sessions. Applications are due by 5 p.m. ET on November 20, 2015. All applicants will be notified of their status by November 24, 2015. Due to recourse constrains, not all applicants will be accepted to the Taskforce.
For more information, please contact Burke Hays at 202-293-3114 ext. 224 or bhays@nfprha.org. Burke is a policy manager at NFPRHA and is primarily responsible handling public financing for safety-net providers.
Supreme Court Will Hear Contraceptive Coverage Challenge
On Friday, November 6, the US Supreme Court announced it will hear a new round of challenges to the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) contraceptive coverage requirement. The Court accepted parts of seven different cases, which it intends to consolidate for oral arguments, though details of how that will work are still being worked out. The Court has told attorneys for the cases it intends to hear oral arguments in March 2016, which would likely mean the cases would be heard March 21, 22, or 23, or March 28, 29, or 30. Although the Court has not yet specified what case name it will use for the consolidated cases, if it follows its usual practice, the challenge will carry the name of the first of these cases filed at the Court: Zubik v. Burwell.
Despite the Court’s ruling in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., which held that closely held for-profit corporations do not have to comply with the contraceptive coverage requirement, a separate line of cases brought primarily by religiously affiliated nonprofit organizations has continued to work its way through the courts. Religiously affiliated nonprofits were given an accommodation by the Obama administration, allowing them to opt out of directly arranging or paying for contraceptive coverage if they sign a form certifying that such coverage violates their religious beliefs; in such cases, the insurance plan or third-party administrator (TPA) must offer the coverage directly to enrollees without cost-sharing. Since the Hobby Lobby ruling, the accommodation has been revised to apply to certain closely held for-profit corporations, as well as amended to revise the process by which entities that object can avail themselves of the accommodation.
In the seven new cases the Court has agreed to hear, the key questions the Court will consider are whether the contraceptive coverage requirement itself violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), and whether the accommodation violates it, too. In Hobby Lobby, the Court was not specifically asked to rule on the question of whether the contraceptive coverage requirement violated RFRA. Instead, the question at issue was whether RFRA allows a for-profit corporation to not comply with the contraceptive coverage requirement based on the religious objections of the corporation’s owners, leaving the ultimate question of the contraceptive coverage requirement’s legality undecided.
The seven cases the Court has accepted are: Zubik v. Burwell; Priests for Life, Inc. v. Department of Health and Human Services; Roman Catholic Archbishop of Washington v. Burwell; East Texas Baptist University v. Burwell; Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged v. Burwell; Southern Nazarene University v. Burwell; and Geneva College v. Burwell.
A decision is expected in late June 2016.
Robin Summers is NFPRHA’s senior policy director who oversees NFPRHA’s Medicaid and legal work. You can contact her at rsummers@nfprha.org or 202-286-8677.
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Winter Meeting: Register Now!
Join NFPRHA January 11-12 in the heart of Texas for policy updates, trainings, workshops, and peer-to-peer conversation to support health center sustainability in the evolving health care environment. The meeting is FREE for NFPRHA members and travel assistance is available. Register now to join NFPRHA at the trendy Omni Austin Hotel Downtown!
NFPRHA at the Forum on Family Planning
NFPRHA will be exhibiting at the 2015 North American Forum on Family Planning, which will be held November 14-16 in Chicago. Catherine Fish, NFPRHA’s membership manager, will be staffing NFPRHA’s booth in the exhibit hall. Stop by to say hello!
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Celebrate LARC Awareness Week with #LoveMyLARC
From November 15 to 21, join the California Family Health Council (CFHC) and partnering organizations in raising awareness about the safety and efficacy of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) methods. Each day has its own theme - and be sure to save the date for the #LoveMyLARC Twitterchat on November 18. To find out more about LARC Awareness Week, visit love-mylarc.org. Here are some sample social media posts from CFHC to get you started:
- This week is LARC Awareness Week! Check out how you can get involved & submit your #LoveMyLARC video! http://bit.ly/Yjqldb
- "I #LoveMyLARC because it means not having to forget pills, ever!" Why do you love your #LARC? http://bit.ly/YjrMby #birthcontrol
- In '07-'09, the % of girls 15-19 using #LARCs tripled from 1.5% to 4.5%! Find out which one works for you http://bit.ly/TgfY69 #LoveMyLARC
- Under the #ACA, all new private #health plans beg #Aug1 are required to cover FDA-approved #contraception methods incl. #LARCs! #LoveMyLARC
- "I #LoveMyLARC because it helped me finish #school & start my #career." http://bit.ly/YjrYaD #birthcontrol #contraception
Share Your Well-Woman Story
The Well-Woman Project, a collaboration between the University of Illinois School of Public Health and the National Organization of Urban Maternal and Child Health Leaders (CityMatCH), is looking for women ages 18 to 35 to share their stories about what factors might affect their ability to be healthy and access health care. Participation is confidential and voluntary, and participants will be entered to win a $50 gift card. Share the Well-Woman Project’s flyer (available in English and Spanish) to spread the word and help get other women’s stories heard, too. To submit your story, or to find out more information about the project, visit the wellwomanstory.org website. If you have questions, please contact Arden Handler at handler@uic.edu.
On-Demand Recording of the Contraceptive Measure Webinar is Now Available
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Maternal and Infant Health Initiative invites you to tune into its Contraceptive Measure webinar recording. The webinar features discussion on ways to increase the use of effective contraception in Medicaid and CHIP, plans to collect and report quality measure data, and more. Visit the registration link to view the recording.
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