Here is my solution for the Hobby Lobby abomination.
The court has ruled that one solution is for the government to pay for the contraception that Hobby Lobby no longer is mandated to provide. Fine. That seems to be within the new definition of the law. However, in so doing, Hobby Lobby will cause the government to incur a cost that puts them at a competitive advantage versus non-religious companies. That is clearly unconstitutional per the First Amendment as it provides preferential treatment for one religion in the business environment versus one with more, shall we say, enlightened beliefs. So, the government has a compelling interest in order to level the playing field and ensure a fair market for crappy craft products and thus we have a solution.
The solution lies beneath the Copper IUD.
The answer as I see it is that the government can simply add to the tax code, and tax filings of companies that wish to utilize this ruling, the requirement for a certified assessment of the cost differential of the insurance with and without contraceptive coverage. The company must then pay that differential to the government along with their federal tax remittance. As I said, the purpose of this fee is to avoid providing certain religiously based companies an unfair business advantage.
The government, separately and using completely different funds, would use its buying power to provide coverage to any woman so denied by their employer. This was offered up as a potential solution by Justice Alito, man of great wisdom that he is. The net profits would go towards deficit reduction and administrative costs.
This approach would add nothing to the debt. It does not require the employers to pay for this coverage. Moreover, it sets the stage for further government provided health care coverage. Employers pay for the overall cost through payments, government pays for services. Sound familiar? Hell, eventually this could be shifted to individuals by some third way Dem as a “pro-business” move. And what do you wind up with? Single payer healthcare paid for by income taxes.
Feel free to point out why this won’t work. Otherwise perhaps it just might.