
Denver — On Friday a group of Roman Catholic nuns won a temporary reprieve from the controversial contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act. The August 21 ruling by the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit means that the Little Sister of the Poor, a group of female religious dedicated to serving the elderly poor and dying, are exempt from the mandate and will not have to pay fines for failing to comply until a final decision on their case is rendered.
Under the mandate, issued by the Department of Health and Human Services in January 2014, all employer health plans must provide coverage for contraceptives, sterilizations, and abortion-inducing drugs.