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BY CANDICE AVILES
The Obama administration proposed changes to its contraception mandate Friday morning.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says it will expand exemptions currently offered
to churches to other religious organizations.
The provision “simplifies the existing definition
of a ‘religious employer’ as it relates to contraceptive coverage” and “proposes
accommodations for additional non profit religious organizations.”
The change is meant
to clarify the administration’s rules on who qualifies as a religious employer. The
definition is simplified to match the IRS’s use of the term. And The Washington Post notes
— employers get a guarantee they won’t be charged.
“Under this proposal, objecting
nonprofits will be allowed to offer employees a plan that does not cover contraceptives.
Their health insurer will then automatically enroll employees in a separate individual
policy, which only covers contraceptives, at no cost.”
Initially, The Affordable
Care Act required all employers to cover contraceptives for women. Some religious groups opposed
the requirement saying it forced them to act against their beliefs.
“The law went
into effect last year, and you remember that there was a major uproar from religious institutions
that do not support contraception.”
But many employers are still unhappy with the
change. Fox News reports there are dozens of lawsuits seeking to block implementation
of the coverage. They say the definition of a religious employer is still not broad enough.
“This
proposed rule change will not apply to private sector companies that are owned and operated
by people with religious objections to this mandate. So companies like Hobby Lobby, for
example, one of the litigants, would still be obligated to provide this coverage.”
The
Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which represents many companies in the lawsuits, says the mandate
is still unacceptable, and that any employer should be able to follow their conscience
whether they’re a religious organization or not.
The Administration is seeking
comment on these proposals and welcomes feedback from all Americans through April 8, 2013.