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(photo: Ãariusz/flickr)
Coming after a month of continued opposition from the U.S. bishops to the mandate, which was first revised in early February to exempt certain religious organizations, today’s announced changes from the Department of Health and Human Services make a number of concessions, including allowing religious organizations that self-insure to be made exempt.
Also raised is the possibility that the definition given for religious employers in the original mandate could be changed.
HHS did not announce final rules, but put forward a 32 page proposal for comment [pdf] on religious organizations and their obligation (or lack thereof) to provide coverage for “certain preventive services.”
That “self insurance” loophole is a huge exemption. Look for any Roman Catholic institutions that aren’t self-insured already to set themselves up that way in short order.
If you wish to take HHS up on their offer to listen to comments on this proposal, page 3 of the pdf has four ways to submit your thoughts. The first is electronically, via www.regulations.gov. They say to “follow the instructions under the ‘More Search Options’ tab.” Unfortunately, regulations.gov is down for maintenance today. (You’ll probably need the file code: CMS-9968-ANPRM.)
But wait! There’s more from HHS on contraception. Again from NCR:
News of the changes also came as a separate ruling on student health insurance coverage was announced by the Department of Health and Human Services this afternoon. Under that ruling, health care plans for students would be treated like those of employees of colleges and universities — meaning the colleges will have to provide contraceptive services to students without co-pay.
Religiously affiliated colleges and universities, however, would be shielded from this ruling, according to a statement from the HHS.
Sandra Fluke and her classmates at Georgetown — a Roman Catholic institution — continue to be out of luck, it seems. Unlike the first announcement, this is a “final rule” [pdf] and not a proposal.
But they can look on the bright side. At least HHS didn’t call them sluts when they said “pay for your own contraceptives!”
28 Comments
Unbelievable yet so predictable. The O Admin has a thing about male authority figures.
You are correct. Th exception for self insured will swallow the rule. A growing number of corporations and institutions self insure. The Administration just proposed a rule that has the same principle, of letting your employer decide your coverage, that Democrats defeated in the Senate just two weeks ago. they had the rhetorical battle won, and they surrendered to the dark side anyway.
And it was another cowardly Friday news dump.
Astonishing. How did this incompetent coward ever become president?
Continuing to cave to these men in dresses who can’t control the reproductive choices of their own flock seems like the kind of Fierce Advocacy applauded by other constituents. Why would Team Obama give in when they are clearly winning this argument in the court of public opinion? Does Kathleen Sebelius not pay attention to US media? Are the ‘rule-makers’ cut off from what’s happening in America?
Do they not know to quit negotiating when they’ve won?
Idiots. Giving in to the corrupt Bishops on an issue 90% of their own flock ignore seems particulary inept.
That “self insurance” loophole is a huge exemption. Look for any Roman Catholic institutions that aren’t self-insured already to set themselves up that way in short order.
we will find out who is driving the bus from that. many catholic-affiliated institutions are just not set up to handle that risk or move to that model. think colleges and hospitals.
if it is forced on all of them, it would be a clear sign that the diocese are driving the institutions and not their non-profit status as education or healthcare facilities.
Book Salon up with Ari Berman’s Herding Donkeys: The Fight To Rebuild The Democratic Party and Reshape American Politics hosted by Dave Weigel
Obamabots complain about the Republican “War on Women.” Then the Obama administration offers up more hostages.
Been asking that for the last 3 years. Still haven’t come up with an answer.
Inept is the right word for Obama.
I still don’t think his re-election is a lock, despite all the idiotic things the GOP have been doing as of late.
Good cop/bad cop. What are you going to do, vote Republican?
(Wait, there’s a Green Party? A Socialist Party? Shhh. There’s only supposed to be the good cop and the bad cop.)
As far as the colleges and universities go, the religious exemption is only temporary (hopefully).
The source which was cited says, “a college or university with religious objections to contraceptive coverage would also fall into an exemption window provided to other religiously affiliated organizations, running through Aug. 1, 2013.
I hate this administration. They are a bunch of cowards and I hope that women vote against him in droves.
Am I the only one who sees this driving the end of employer-funded healthcare insurance? Intended or not, the political pressure is building to support Medicare for All before the individual mandate and the state exchanges are up and running in 2014. Instead of complaining, it’s time to press the advantage whether any of the Washington insiders want it or not.
I guess I’m getting outrage fatigue and am ready to do something. If those proposals for comment are still open, anyone to all of us can comment on them. The total number of comments gets tallied. And all comments have to be addressed generically, addessing groups of similar comments. Commenting on a rule does not take that much effort once you understand the rule and its implications. Go to the HHS web site to find out how to do it and what the deadlines are for this issue.
Here is the method for commenting:
Note this disclaimer:
Consider this a call for a commenting flash mob.
Maybe I misunderstood the original reg. I thought it concerned what insurance employers had to provide for employees.
Sure seems that having big public hissy fits pays off.
There doesn’t appear to be a way to really comment on this particular piece of regulation on the regulation.gov site. It doesn’t list it as open for comment. Am I missing an area where we can comment?
You silly! That was just for the sake of optics. Democrats got to pretend to be outraged and Obama got to make a phone call to express how unhappy he was that poor Sandra didn’t get a chance to speak(I wonder if he giggled during the exchange KNOWING that his policy was going to screw her and the other students of Georgetown.)
I hate these people. At least with Limbaugh you’ve got an overt and honest misogyny. With this administration they PRETEND one thing and then do another. It’s sociopathic.
Not really.
A whole bunch of people were outraged from our side of the aisle. As usual though It’s Punch the Hippy day in DC.
Jill Stein looks better and better by the day.
We might be behind the curve on this one. It might already be closed for comments. I can’t find this specific one either.
But as a matter of interest, bookmark regulations.gov and check the upcoming list of regulations for any that you might comment on. The comment link on the right opens up a pretty standard comment form. There is on some a link for opening a docket folder. I guess that is for filing various prepared documents, like studies, that industries like to shower on regulators.
Regulations that get large numbers of public comments that focus on specific items in the regulation generally get attention. People power when used can offset money power. The folks who do the actual writing are civil service employees, and the ones I’ve met during my career have been pretty diligent about their work. But then it now goes to the White House regulatory czar before it gets released.
I’m not talking about inside the kabuki palace. I’m talking about the Catholic bishop’s hissy fit.
We desperately need to write a “Bible of beliefs” for secular folks and those of us of faith that don’t believe Christianity should be the eqeuivalent of the Taliban. It appears that’s the only way anyone who might disagree with a clergy member will have any grounds to base it on their own belief in what God has told them.
Really? Am I the only one here that is able to see the utter…self defeating…stupidity of even having this conversation?
How about we keep our eyes on the prize……the loss off our freedom, our rights, our liberty?
I mean really, you are seriously going to allow Rush Limbaugh and friends to decide the topic of your conversations? WAKE THE FUCK UP! The country, your country, where your loved ones reside……is fucking burning down. Yet still, you morons are yammering on about contraception.
OOOOH, I forgot to mention. Spelunking? What the fuck is wrong with you anyway.
Everyone here really should take a deep breath, and actually _read_ the document linked above. In each case, yes, the institution gets out of _directly_ covering contraception, if they satisfy whatever criteria helps them declare their true feelings about women, etc.
However, in each case, an underwriting insurance company (even for self-insured inst.) WILL cover contraception without additional cost to that institution’s beneficiaries. So, Sandra Fluke and everyone else will have needed contraception provided, in spite of the bishops, Limbaugh, and other people who want to paint the world with santorum.
The bishops got snookered, and don’t like it. Don’t help them by yelling at Obama.
Spoken like a true man that will never have to experience gestational diabetes, have his kidneys blocked off, worry about preeclampsia, puke for three months straight destroying the enamel on your teeth, worry about seizures, worry about serious vitamin or mineral deficiencies in your later years because you sacrificed your to bring life into the world or ever have to worry about dying in childbirth.
You’re a putz and you can bite me.
I read it. I certainly wouldn’t be trying to comment on something I hadn’t read.
You can consider the fact that he basically told the bishops that it was acceptable to discriminate a big “win” I don’t. Then again I’ve been watching the GOP move the ball down the court on women’s rights while cowards like Obama cower in the corner and allow it.
Both the New York Times @ http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/17/health/policy/obama-administration-says-birth-control-mandate-applies-to-religious-groups-that-insure-themselves.html and the Washington Post @ http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/white-house-fleshes-out-exemptions-to-birth-control-rule/2012/03/16/gIQAoLB5GS_story.html
report that Georgetown students will be covered under the new rules. Peterr is right about one thing tho: you can bet most Roman Catholic institutions that are not currently self-insuring will switch to self-insurance to avoid providing contraceptive coverage. Since the institutions have a year to, uh, implement the rules, it seems likely they’ll spend that time setting up self-insurance programs.
The Constant Weader @ http://www.RealityChex.com