Washington D.C., Jun 5, 2017 / 13:08 pm
The Supreme Court of the United States, in an 8-0 decision on Monday, ruled that the pension plans of religious hospitals meet religious exemptions from costly regulations.
"The Supreme Court got it right," Eric Rassbach, deputy general counsel at Becket, a legal firm which filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the Catholic health care networks, stated June 5. "Churches – not government bureaucrats and certainly not ambulance chasers – should decide whether hospitals are part of the church."
Justice Elena Kagan delivered the opinion of the Court in Advocate Health Care Network v. Stapleton, a consolidation of three cases involving religious hospitals like St. Peter's HealthCare System in New Jersey and Advocate Health Care Network. Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a concurring opinion.
Justice Neil Gorsuch, the newest member of the Court, did not join in the ruling as he had not yet been confirmed to the Court when oral arguments in the case took place March 27.