Is There Justification For The Contraceptive Rule To Go Into Effect Immediately Upon Issuance?

On May 23, 2017, the Department of Health and Human Services sent to the Office of Management and Budget for review a draft of an interim final rule on “Coverage of Certain Preventive Services Under the Affordable Care Act.” This rule is intended to broaden current accommodations offered to entities that object to the requirement under the Affordable Care Act preventive services rule that insurers and group health plans provide employees access to contraceptives without cost sharing. The OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) is charged with reviewing draft federal rules to ensure that the rules comply with various federal requirements. For example, OIRA checks that that the agency considered regulatory alternatives and analyzed the costs and benefits of the rule. As of July 7, 2017, the draft was still being held at OIRA. Under the federal Administrative Procedures Act, a proposed rule must normally be exposed for public comment and an agency must consider the public comments it receives before it promulgates a final rule. An interim final rule may be promulgated without prior comments only “when an agency, for good cause, finds that notice and public comment thereon are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest.” An apparently genuine copy of the draft interim final contraceptive rule was leaked on May 30, 2017. The preamble of the leaked rule states, “The Departments have determined that good cause exists to publish these...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Following the ACA contraceptive coverage contraceptive mandate Zubik v. Burwell Source Type: blogs