however, only about 51% or 52% of employees work for closely held companies because it s the big ones that are publicly traded. i would also note, though, while the court didn t say that publicly traded companies also have this religious freedom right, they suggested it in their reasoning. i don t actually think there s a reason, based on what the court said today, to think that all companies are not persons under the religious freedom restoration act. there is a phrase, the term closely held company is used by the irs. and if they reach over for that definition, they will find that it has five stockholders or less, which is what hobby lobby is, about five stockholders. and so they may reach over and use that. but it also, for practical purposes, emily, it strikes me that contraception coverage is a low-dollar item, if you re trying to figure out how much it costs, within the totality of a
senior editor for mike.com. and msnbc s joy reed. thank you for being here. good to be here. joy, the right is calling this a victory for their side. could it backfire in the midterms? i think as a matter of optics, it s actually not a good day for conservatives. this is not about abortion. this is a ruling about basic contraception, something that 90 plus women have direct experience with. it s a vast majority of particularly single woman which is a group republican dos poorly with support the idea of the mandate for contraception coverage. it can be expensive. the idea that the court has carved out this birth control as something these companies because of oh their religious beliefs don t have to fund, optically, it s really not a good day for the right. it does look like peering into people s personal lives and making decisions that we are going to with hold something
however, only about 51% or 52% of employees work for closely held companies because it s the big ones that are publicly traded. i would also note, though, while the court didn t say that publicly traded companies also have this religious freedom right, they suggested it in their reasoning. i don t actually think there s a reason, based on what the court said today, to think that all companies are not persons under the religious freedom restoration act. there is a phrase, the term closely held company is used by the irs. and if they reach over for that definition, they will find that it has five stockholders or less, which is what hobby lobby is, about five stockholders. and so they may reach over and use that. but it also, for practical purposes, emily, it strikes me that contraception coverage is a low-dollar item, if you re trying to figure out how much it costs, within the totality of a health insurance package.
so sue me. reporter: white house press secretary made clear that includes possible executive action to expand contraception coverage for women in the wake of the defeat the supreme court handed the president in the hobby lobby case. congress won t act the president will consider a range of options for addressing this problem. reporter: a reversal for the president who repeatedly said everyone should just move on after a 5-4 supreme court decision deemed his health care law unconstitutional. the supreme court has spoken. we re implementing it. it s helping families all across this nation. we re moving forward. the supreme court ruled constitutional. it was a central issue in last year s election. it s settled. it is here to stay. reporter: now democrats see this court decision as a golden opportunity to rally their base ahead of the mid-term elections and set it up as a wedge issue in 2016 which hillary clinton quickly did last night in the battleground state of colorado. as s
this is new ground. but it s important to note this decision goes far beyond the christian owned craft supply store at the side of the screen here. here s a full list compiled by the daily beast of pending cases, pending cases filed by companies non-profits and universities challenging obama care. affordable care act s contraception mandate as of july 26th. these 82 employers could drop contraception coverage as a result of yesterday s ruling. in the meantime, yesterday s decision only highlighted the great divide between conservatives and democrats when it comes to women s health issues. president obama believes that women should make personal health care decisions for themselves rather than their bosses deciding for them. today s decision jeopardizes the health of women who are employed by these companies. in the hobby lobby case, narrow, though it may be, the supreme court by 5-4 majority