The federal government has predicted that more than 126,000 women could lose contraceptive coverage under the exemptions, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from the District of Columbia and Massachusetts.
- District of Columbia: The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a 7-2 decision upholding the Trump administration's 2018 rules that allow employers to claim religious and moral exemptions from the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive mandate, which requires employer-sponsored health plans to cover contraceptives without cost sharing. The federal government has predicted that more than 126,000 women could lose contraceptive coverage under the exemptions (Liptak, New York Times, 7/8; Bravin/Kendall, Wall Street Journal, 7/9; Hurley, Reuters, 7/8).
- District of Columbia: The Trump administration on Tuesday launched a national campaign that aims to reduce America's suicide rate by reducing stigma regarding mental health conditions and educating people about suicide risk factors. The campaign urges Americans to reach out to others if they need help, particularly amid the country's coronavirus epidemic (Yen, Associated Press, 7/7).
- Massachusetts: Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Wednesday sued the Trump administration to block a new federal directive that would strip international college students of their U.S. visas if all of their coursework is online. The directive would require the students to take at leas one in-person course to remain in the country on a student visa. The universities in the lawsuit claim the directive is politically motivated and violates the federal Administrative Procedure Act. According to the universities, the policy would force about 9,000 of their international students to leave the country (Hartocollis/Jordan, New York Times, 7/8).