US appeals court blocks Trump birth control coverage rules

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

By SUDHIN THANAWALA
43 minutes ago

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A U.S. appeals court Thursday blocked rules by the Trump administration allowing more employers to opt out of providing women with no-cost birth control.

States were likely to succeed on their claim that the changes to President Barack Obama’s health care law were made without required notice and public comment, a divided, three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said.

The panel upheld a preliminary injunction against the rules issued by a lower court judge last year. An email to the Justice Department seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Obama’s health care law required most companies to cover birth control at no additional cost, though it included exemptions for religious organizations. The new policy allowed more categories of employers, including publicly traded companies, to opt out of providing free contraception to women by claiming religious objections. It also allowed any company that is not publicly traded to deny coverage on moral grounds.

-snip-


Read more: https://apnews.com/15851f17cb164b89a4fa3d8be33e156b

[hibbing]

1. It would not be "free contraception"

It is a paid benefit as part of paying premiums on health insurance. My annual wellness exam is also "free", but in reality the cost of it is covered by insurance, which I pay for. I get annoyed with the word "free" sometimes!

Peace

[BigmanPigman]

3. Agree 100%.

My heath care costs are almost half my disability/retirement income. I just renewed it and it has increased a lot but not my tax credits. I can't afford to live as a person with pre-existing conditions in this country.

[Honeycombe8]

4. There's no co-pay. And you don't have to pay, if you have a deductible. My ded. was $4,500.

So I would have had to pay for anything up to $4,500, except for the "free" exam (which the ins. co. charged me $68 for, anyway) and free contraceptives and such.

It's not free in the sense that it costs, so it goes into the insurance company's calculations of costs, to price the policies for everyone.

My hormones (which is what birth control pills are) were not free. So I had to give them up, since I would had to pay out of pocket for them. They cost $200. Birth control pills cost about $30, I think?

[iluvtennis]

2. Excellent news. So tired of the GOP trying to legislate what women can do with their bodies

wrt birth control.

[MissMillie]

5. I don't like to think of myself as a conspiracy theorist, but...

when they take away our birth control, then we get pregnant, and then they make an argument to pay us less...

Those same men would be very upset if no women would have sex w/ them.

[iluvtennis]

6. You're spot on MissMillie