Contraception Mandate in ACA - Essay Example

Contraception Man in ACA Grade (Feb. 22nd, Contraception Man in ACA The Contraception Man in Affordable Care Act is the policy that I would like to explore in the final project.The birth control/contraceptive mandate accommodated in the Affordable Care Act raises several issues amongst them:Values The morality of using contraceptives as birth control methodsThe conflict of morality regarding whether refusing covering employees contraceptive expenses amounts to discrimination on the basis of sexWhether the exclusion of the birth control mandate in preventive health is in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964The morality conflict in forcing institutions to cater for the contraceptive expenses of their employeesThe value conflict between the religious doctrines of non-contraceptive use, and the federal requirement for mandatory coverage of employee contraceptive use expenses for such institutions The values of the religious doctrines of no-abortion and the federal law requirement for the religious institutions to cover abortion-inducing drugs for their employeesThe value conflict of the non-sterilization policy of the religious doctrines and the federal law requiring that the religious institutions should cover the sterilization expenses of their employeesProblems The problem of forcing religious institutions to adhere to legal requirements that are against their faith and doctrinesThe problem of enforcing the Contraception Mandate in Affordable Care Act, by excluding the institutions whose faith-based value conflicts with the legal requirements of the policy.

SolutionThe federal government and the religious institutions should reach a neutral agreement to end the conflict, for example, through the requirements for the institutions to pay for such expenses, and then have them reimbursed (Tate, 2012). This will solve both the problem of the faith based conflict, and the problem of having some institutions adhering to the law, while others are exempted. The policy frameworkThe Contraception Mandate in Affordable Care Act is based on a legal framework, where the federal government has enacted and passed the act such that it is now a law that is observable in the whole country and by all states, without exemptions (Bassett, 2013).

The policy takes the form of strict guidelines to be observed in relation to the preventive health services that are to be covered mandatorily in the health insurance schemes, while providing the fines for those who fail to adhere to the policy (Friedman, 2014). ActorsCongress-drafters of the policyThe federal government:-The sponsors of the policyThe religious institutions-Opposing parties to the policyThe judiciary-arbiters in the conflict between the government and the faith based-institutionsThe Equal Employment Opportunity Commission-supporters of the policy, on the basis of provision of equal health insurance coverage for all employees, regardless of the religious or faith affiliations.

State governments and police departments-enforcers of the policyConflictsThe major conflict in this policy issue is that; there is a possibility of unending court battles between the federal government and the faith based institutions, which will not relent on their fight against the requirement to cover for the contraceptive and unintended pregnancy prevention or termination costs (Bassett, 2013). Further, there is a possibility of the rise of conflict between the federal government and other employers, who may not easily agree to cover the expenses that some employers, such as the faith-based institutions, are exempted (Tate, 2012).

What policy processes, structures and strategies do you hope to exploreThe structures and strategies I seek to explore is how a truce can be reached between the federal government and the employers, to ensure that all the employees are equally covered for all preventive health risks, while also ensuring that the faith-based doctrines and the religious principles held by different religions are not violated. Thus, the study will seek to establish what structures can be applied towards ensuring that the law stipulated is observed, while that the institutions that seek to be exempted are exempted.

The personal interest in his issue emanates from the fact that I fall in both the employee category so would want to be afforded the equal health services, while still being a faith-based individual, and thus would like to see the religious principles remain un-violated. ReferencesBassett, L. (April 5, 2013). Contraception Mandate Likely Headed To Supreme Court, Experts Say. The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/05/contraception-mandate-supreme-court_n_3017451.htmlFriedman, D.

(February 20, 2014). The Affordable Care Act’s Contraceptive Mandate. The Stanford Daily, http://www.stanforddaily.com/2014/02/20/the-affordable-care-acts-contraceptive-mandate/Tate, N. J. (2012). ObamaCare survival guide. West Palm Beach, FL: Humanix Books.