Health News
Yesterday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky joined several other speakers in lambasting the original version of the rule, calling it "an assault on religious liberty," reports James R. Carroll of The Courier-Journal.
Obama's adjustment did not appear to placate most critics, but Sister Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Association, said, "The framework developed has responded to the issues we identified that needed to be fixed." (Read more)
- Next Phase Of Health Reform: New And Renewed Insurance Policies Will Have To Cover Birth Control, Other Preventive Care For Women
Even though the decision was widely expected, as part of health care reform, the news is still what Julie Rovner of National Public Radio termed "a pretty big deal." Earlier this week, she reports, the Department of Health and Human Services adopted in...
- Will Birth-control Mandate Cost More Or Less? Yet To Be Seen
Will requiring insurance companies to provide contraception be cost-neutral, as the Obama administration claims? It is unclear, and so is whether insurance companies will make Catholic institutions pay more. These were the findings of FactCheck.org,...
- Louisville Hospital Merger Probably Means Poor Women Won't Get Their Tubes Tied At University Hospital Any More
Women who deliver through Caesarean sections at the University of Louisville Hospital may no longer be able to get their fallopian tubes tied at the same time, Patrick Howington of the The Courier-Journal reports. This rule may be one of many the...
- No, Health Reform Doesn?t Give Congress Special Treatment
Some health reform opponents claim the Obama administration is giving members of Congress and their staffs special treatment under the Affordable Care Act. The claim, which a number of media stories have repeated uncritically, is simply false: Although...
- Setting The Record Straight On Health Law?s Delayed Small Business Features
The Department of Health and Human Services? proposal to delay critical requirements for small business health insurance exchanges in some states is a disappointment to Small Business Majority and millions of small businesses. It?s a letdown to small...
Health News
Obama changes health-insurance rule to placate religious groups that oppose birth control
In an effort to quell a firestorm of controversy, President Obama announced today that his administration change its new rule that requires employers to offer free birth-control coverage in their health insurance plans. The rule has outraged some Roman Catholic leaders, whose tenets prohibit artificial contraception. (Associated Press photo by Susan Walsh)
Today's change essentially requires insurers, rather than religious employers, to cover the cost of coverage for contraception. "Any employer who has a religious objection to providing contraception will not have to provide that service to employees, but in those cases the insurer will be required to reach out directly to the employee and offer contraceptive care free of charge," report Christi Parsons and Kathleen Hennessey of the Los Angeles Times.
Obama's adjustment did not appear to placate most critics, but Sister Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Association, said, "The framework developed has responded to the issues we identified that needed to be fixed." (Read more)
- Next Phase Of Health Reform: New And Renewed Insurance Policies Will Have To Cover Birth Control, Other Preventive Care For Women
Even though the decision was widely expected, as part of health care reform, the news is still what Julie Rovner of National Public Radio termed "a pretty big deal." Earlier this week, she reports, the Department of Health and Human Services adopted in...
- Will Birth-control Mandate Cost More Or Less? Yet To Be Seen
Will requiring insurance companies to provide contraception be cost-neutral, as the Obama administration claims? It is unclear, and so is whether insurance companies will make Catholic institutions pay more. These were the findings of FactCheck.org,...
- Louisville Hospital Merger Probably Means Poor Women Won't Get Their Tubes Tied At University Hospital Any More
Women who deliver through Caesarean sections at the University of Louisville Hospital may no longer be able to get their fallopian tubes tied at the same time, Patrick Howington of the The Courier-Journal reports. This rule may be one of many the...
- No, Health Reform Doesn?t Give Congress Special Treatment
Some health reform opponents claim the Obama administration is giving members of Congress and their staffs special treatment under the Affordable Care Act. The claim, which a number of media stories have repeated uncritically, is simply false: Although...
- Setting The Record Straight On Health Law?s Delayed Small Business Features
The Department of Health and Human Services? proposal to delay critical requirements for small business health insurance exchanges in some states is a disappointment to Small Business Majority and millions of small businesses. It?s a letdown to small...