WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court said it would decide whether businesses, like people, have a right to religious expression, in cases challenging the federal health law's mandate that employers provide contraceptive coverage to female employees.

The high court upheld most of President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act in a June 2012 decision. But lower courts have split since then on whether contraceptive coverage must be included in minimum benefits packages.

The Obama administration has exempted religiously affiliated nonprofit employers, such as Catholic hospitals, from financing such coverage. At the same time, it held that for-profit companies remain bound by the requirement, regardless of the beliefs espoused by their owners.

The justices on Tuesday consolidated into a single argument two appellate rulings that reached opposite conclusions. The cases are expected to be heard in late March, with a decision announced by June.

The companies challenging the rule are Hobby Lobby Stores Inc., an Oklahoma City-based arts-and-crafts chain, and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp., an East Earl, Pa., manufacturer of kitchen cabinet doors.