Ridiculous fines and the US contraceptive/abortifacent mandate

Submitted by David on Thu, 2012-11-22 07:49

Given the concern over the morning after pill potentially causing an abortion and the government mandate to provide this in US health insurance packages in 2013, here's one case involving a US company currently providing health insurance to their employees (and paying above average wages):

  • The fine for not including contraceptive / abortifacent coverage in their health insurance: $1.3 million / day
  • The fine for not providing health insurance to employees: $2 million / month

Why is the for not providing contraceptives/abortifacent coverage roughly 20 times as much as the fine for not providing any health insurance at all?

To quote the Washington Examiner:

The Greens weren't arguing that morning-after pills should be illegal. They weren't even trying to keep their employees from using them. They just didn't want to implicate themselves in what they saw as immoral activity.

The fine is basically $100 per employee per day. By comparison, the morning after pill costs $10-$70 and a month of birth control pills can be had for $9/month without insurance.