ALBANY – A mid-level appeals court Thursday unanimously rejected the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany’s effort to challenge a state regulation that requires health insurers to cover medically necessary abortions. In a 5-0 decision, the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court’s Third Department upheld a January 2019 ruling by state Supreme Court Justice Richard McNally, who determined that insurance policies that provide hospital, surgical or medical expense coverage must cover abortions that are medically necessary. McNally had highlighted a 2006 Court of Appeals ruling that affirmed the Women’s Health and Wellness Act of 2002 — a law requiring insurers to cover cost of doctor-prescribed contraception. Catholic Charities of the Albany Diocese tried to get a temporary injunction to stop that law but were unsuccessful. The diocese argued that the more recent regulation was “more morally and religiously offensive to them” than the 2002 law, according to Thursday’s decision. The diocese sued the state Division of Financial Services, its former acting superintendent, Maria Vullo, and insurance companies that included Capital District Physicians Health Plan (CDPHP) entities, MVP Health Care, Excellus Health Plan and Independent Health Association. They challenged a regulation that included an exemption for religious employers, though church officials […]
