New birth control rule for employers with religious qualms

Women will have insurance coverage for birth control regardless of whether their employer claims a religious exemption, the federal government announced today. The accommodation ensures that all employed women, unless they work for a place of worship, will still have their birth control covered at no cost to them, even if their employers refuse to cover it. Prior to the new rules, eligible organizations were required to file a form with the Department of Labor and locate a third-party administrator to provide contraceptive services to enrollees.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) is among those who believe the Obama administration shouldn’t have to bow to “religious objections” from for-profit companies and wants to see legislative action to override the Supreme Court’s ruling in the matter. “Already, we’ve seen employers across the country deny women access to health insurance benefits they have earned, and threaten a worker’s right to make their own autonomous decisions about everything from vaccinations to HIV treatment”. Female employees at these organizations would then receive contraceptive coverage directly from insurers, without any direct payment by the employer. To qualify, companies can not be publicly traded on stock markets. For purposes of meeting the new rule, a family counts as a single individual.

The final rules allow nonprofit organizations, as well as closely held for-profit entities, that have religious objections to notify HHS, in writing, of their religious objections to covering contraceptive services. Some nonprofits said that would essentially involve them in arranging the coverage, albeit indirectly.

The contraception mandate carved out an accommodation for religious non-profits, such as Catholic schools and hospitals, but some for-profit companies run by religious people sued the administration because they felt the law violated their beliefs about contraception.

In a June 29 order, the Supreme Court continued to shield several Pennsylvania religious institutions from having to provide employees with health care coverage that includes contraceptives. Someone is paying for more abortifacients, which violates the religious freedom of faith-based organizations that oppose abortifacient drugs, yet whose employees now have it because the Obama administration will not comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling.

In 2013 – the first year that the contraception requirement was fully effective – the share of privately insured women who got birth control pills without a copayment jumped to 56 percent, from 14 percent the year before. That share was expected to grow.