Obama's health secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, briefed pro-choice groups on the new rule. Obama blinks again on contraception

For the second time in a year, the Obama administration has backtracked on its requirement to make religious institutions pay for contraception.

A new policy announced Friday further expanded the exemption to Obamacare: Women will still be able to get the same health benefits, but certain religious employers won’t have to pay for them. Instead, institutions that insure themselves can use a third-party to find a separate health insurance plan to pay for and provide the contraceptives.


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Facing outrage from institutions that objected to the contraception requirement on moral grounds, the administration had already exempted some religious institutions — churches were always exempt — from requiring contraception coverage last year. Then, Obama exempted some religiously affiliated institutions, such as evangelical Christian schools or Catholic hospitals, from covering contraception in their plans, forcing insurers to offer free contraception to those employed by them.

Friday’s shift broadened the definition of which groups would be exempt and addressed where the money to pay for the guaranteed coverage would come from so that religious groups wouldn’t be paying even indirectly.

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The Health and Human Services Department announced the new proposed rule on its website.

The new policy is designed to quell outcry from religious-affiliated institutions, that the Obama administration was making them violate their religious beliefs.

The policy does not address the concerns of private businesses whose owners also object to contraception on religious grounds. Several dozen lawsuits have been filed, and the religious freedom issue is likely to reach the Supreme Court.

“Today, the administration is taking the next step in providing women across the nation with coverage of recommended preventive care at no cost, while respecting religious concerns,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement. “We will continue to work with faith-based organizations, women’s organizations, insurers and others to achieve these goals.”

Sebelius briefed abortion rights groups on the new rule Thursday, sources tell POLITICO.

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White House press secretary Jay Carney referred questions to HHS, but said that the president believes that the policy both guarantees contraception for women and respects religious objections.

In outlining the policy last year, Carney said, the president “set two important criteria. One, to ensure that women have access to preventive services like contraception. And that the policy also respects religious beliefs. Those guidelines, those criteria have been followed by the department in promulgating this rule, this proposed rule, and as part of that process there will be more comment that is taken on it.”

Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said she was optimistic after an initial review of the proposed change.

“Today’s draft regulation affirms yet again the Obama administration’s commitment to fulfilling the full promise of its historic contraception policy,” said Hogue. “Thanks to this commitment, most American women will get birth-control coverage without extra expense. Increased access to birth control is a huge win for women and is necessary to prevent unintended pregnancy — a goal on which both pro-choice and anti-choice people ought to agree.”

New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, was non-committal about the new policy.

“We welcome the opportunity to study the proposed regulations closely,” Dolan said in a statement. “We look forward to issuing a more detailed statement later.”

Women will get a small separate insurance policy that covers contraception that is not paid for by the religious employer and does not cost the woman anything. Costs will be covered by fees insurers pay to participate in the new federal health exchanges being set up under Obamacare.

The new policy also expands the definition of “religious employer,” potentially allowing more institutions to get out of the requirement. The new policy eliminates the requirement that they have religious values in their purpose, employ people of the same religion and primarily serve people with the same religious values.

James Salt, executive director of Catholics United, praised Obama for fulfilling his promise to the faithful that he would find a compromise.

“HHS has done the right thing. This is a victory not only for the Obama administration, but for the Catholic Church,” Salt said.

The fight dates back a year to when the Obama administration first announced the birth control coverage requirement – which was widely seen as having a far too narrow exemption for religious groups.

The administration then broadened the exemption – and said that insurers, not the religious institutions themselves, could pay for the contraception coverage. But that didn’t help “self-insured” organizations – where it’s their money, not the insurers. The policy outlined Friday attempted to address their concerns.