The perceived effects of federal healthcare policy on faith-based organizations: A qualitative study

This research explores the perceived effects of government mandates that intersect with religious boundaries. The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) and administrative policies of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requires every employer in the United States with fifty or more employees to provide employment medical insurance. This insurance must offer preventive health services to all women with reproductive capacity including all FDA approved contraceptive methods and sterilization procedures – with only narrow exceptions, e.g. for certain religious employers . For some, this provision is a welcomed medical benefit; for others, it creates difficult dilemmas with their faith. Thus this situation between government authority and religious liberty may pose problems with First Amendment rights of religious employers. Interviewing senior officials at faith-based organizations (FBOs) to assess the perceived effects of this law on their religious institutions may provide some clarity into the unintended consequences and constitutional issues created by the government. Applying scientific inquiry to better understand how and why FBOs as private employers make choices in difficult situations where they must either obey the law or follow their faith will help inform insightful civic engagement, policymaking and public administration for similar complex issues with religious implications in American society