Religion
Related: About this forumLGBT Legal Activists Brace for Religious Rulings from SCOTUS
06/10/2014
By Lisa Keen
June is the final month of the U.S. Supreme Courts current session and, while anticipation is not nearly so great this year for the LGBT community as it was last year, there is some concern in the air.
Last year, the wait was about marriage: whether the Supreme Court would declare the Defense of Marriage Act and Californias ban on same-sex couples marrying to be unconstitutional. It declared DOMA unconstitutional and, on a legal technicality, it allowed a lower court decision striking Californias Proposition 8 to stand.
This year, anxiety surrounds two consolidated cases in which employers are seeking the right to discriminate against employees in the provision of health benefits based on the company owners personal religious beliefs. It is the type of conflict religious beliefs versus non-discrimination laws-- that has arisen time and again in recent years by employers seeking to discriminate against LGBT people.
Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores and Conestoga Wood v. HHS are lawsuits brought by the owners of for-profit commercial enterprises --a furniture maker, an arts and craft store, and a bookstore (the latter selling Christian-oriented books). The owners of the company object to a requirement by the Affordable Care Act that employers health plans include coverage for contraception. They say theyre not trying to stop the use of contraception; they just dont want to be involved in funding it.
http://www.towleroad.com/2014/06/legal-activists-brace-for-religious-ruling.html
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(106,886 posts)How is Medicare funded?
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is the federal agency that runs the Medicare Program and monitors Medicaid programs offered by each state.
In 2011, Medicare covered 48.7 million people. Total expenditures in 2011 were $549.1 billion. This money comes from the Medicare Trust Funds.
Medicare Trust Funds
Medicare is paid for through 2 trust fund accounts held by the U.S. Treasury. These funds can only be used for Medicare.
Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund.
How is it funded?
Payroll taxes paid by most employees, employers, and people who are self-employed.
Other sources, like income taxes paid on Social Security benefits, interest earned on the trust fund investments, and Medicare Part A premiums from people who aren't eligible for premium-free Part A.