Administration Proposes New Health Rules Addressing Religious Objections

[cbayer]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/23/us/politics/administration-to-propose-new-health-rules-addressing-religious-objections.html

By MICHAEL D. SHEAR
AUG. 22, 2014

EDGARTOWN, Mass. — The Obama administration on Friday proposed new regulations intended to address the religious objections that some nonprofit organizations and private companies have to providing contraceptive coverage for their employees.

The United States Supreme Court said this summer that the government could not force a private, closely held company to pay for insurance coverage for contraceptive services at no cost to their employees if the owners of the company expressed religious objections. In a separate decision, the court also said that previous religious accommodations for some nonprofit organizations did not go far enough.

For President Obama’s administration, the court rulings presented a dilemma: how to stand by their insistence that all women should have easy access to contraceptive services at no cost, while also recognizing the religious objections of organizations and companies as determined by the court.

For the last several months, officials have been seeking a middle ground that would meet the court’s new standards while not abandoning the president’s principles.

On Friday, the administration proposed a rule, which would go into effect immediately, to address the concerns of nonprofit groups. Under the proposal, a religious college or other nonprofit group could inform the Department of Health and Human Services of its religious objections and the department would then contact insurance companies and arrange the birth control coverage at no cost to the employer or its employees.

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