Both Catholic Health Assn and Planned Parenthood Say They’re Pleased With Contracepti

[jaxx]

Feb 10, 2012 11:05am
Both Catholic Health Assn and Planned Parenthood Say They’re Pleased With Contraception Rule Announcement

Senior administration officials are pleased with the initial response to President Obama’s pending announcement on an “accommodation” for religious organizations regarding the rule requiring employers to provide health insurance that covers birth control.

Though they’re on opposite sides of the birth control and abortion debate, both Sister Carol Keehan, the president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association, and Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, issued statements Friday morning applauding the compromise, which allows religious organizations to keep contraception out of its coverage while requiring the insurance companies to step in and offer contraceptive coverage to the female employees.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/201...ouncement/

Both statements at link.

President Obama will speak at 12:15 today on this issue.

[jaxx]

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
February 10, 2012
FACT SHEET: Women’s Preventive Services and Religious Institutions

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, most health insurance plans will cover women’s preventive services, including contraception, without charging a co-pay or deductible beginning in August, 2012. This new law will save money for millions of Americans and ensure Americans nationwide get the high-quality care they need to stay healthy.

Today, President Obama will announce that his Administration will implement a policy that accommodates religious liberty while protecting the health of women. Today, nearly 99 percent of all women have used contraception at some point in their lives, but more than half of all women between the ages of 18-34 struggle to afford it.

Under the new policy to be announced today, women will have free preventive care that includes contraceptive services no matter where she works. The policy also ensures that if a woman works for religious employers with objections to providing contraceptive services as part of its health plan, the religious employer will not be required to provide contraception coverage, but her insurance company will be required to offer contraceptive care free of charge.

The new policy ensures women can get contraception without paying a co-pay and addresses important concerns raised by religious groups by ensuring that objecting religious employers will not have to provide contraceptive coverage or refer women to organizations that provide contraception. Background on this policy is included below:

• Section 2713 of the Affordable Care Act, the Administration adopted new guidelines that will require most private health plans to cover preventive services for women without charging a co-pay starting on August 1, 2012. These preventive services include well women visits, domestic violence screening, and contraception, and all were recommended to the Secretary of Health and Human Services by the independent Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science.

• Today, the Obama Administration will publish final rules in the Federal Register that:

o Exempts churches, other houses of worship, and similar organizations from covering contraception on the basis of their religious objections.

o Establishes a one year transition period for religious organizations while this policy is being implemented.

• The President will also announce that his Administration will propose and finalize a new regulation during this transition year to address the religious objections of the non-exempted religious organizations. The new regulation will require insurance companies to cover contraception if the non-exempted religious organization chooses not to. Under the policy:

o Religious organizations will not have to provide contraceptive coverage or refer their employees to organizations that provide contraception.

o Religious organizations will not be required to subsidize the cost of contraception.

o Contraception coverage will be offered to women by their employers’ insurance companies directly, with no role for religious employers who oppose contraception.

o Insurance companies will be required to provide contraception coverage to these women free of charge.

Covering contraception saves money for insurance companies by keeping women healthy and preventing spending on other health services. For example, there was no increase in premiums when contraception was added to the Federal Employees Health Benefit System and required of non-religious employers in Hawaii. One study found that covering contraception lowered premiums by 10 percent or more.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-offi...stitutions

(no copyright)

[Peacetrain]

Good.. time to put this one to bed! Though it has exposed the republicans to the public that they will try and destroy women's health issues.

As President Obama pointed out that contraception is more than stopping pregnancy but in many cases such as ovarian cancer prevention is a medical treatment,.

I am happy that everyone can get on board with this..

Good job Democrats and President Obama..

Course correction keeps the train from going off the rails..

Now the Republicans have set themselves up big time at CPAC trying to start a values war at the expense of 51% of the population

I am editing to add..

The Taliban did the same thing.. limiting health car to women to control them.. During the Clinton administration they were down to one hospital in all of Afghanistan that treated women.. one hospital..

[Born_A_Truman]

Way to make an end run POTUS!! So, even if the insurance companies don't like it, it is still cheaper for them to provide free contraceptives than covering pre-natal, childbirth and adding a child to the coverage for another 18-26 years.

Now the GOP will have to drop their "Obama's war on religion" meme and find something else to whine about.

Rachel showed them for the hypocrites they are last night.

[NJMaverick]

to beat the no win scenerio

[sandnsea]

I just roll my eyes. I'm so glad women's health is protected. But what a load of bullshit. How much of their income is from women coming in for pelvic exams and getting birth control pills?

[Still a Democrat]

This whole thing is the most convoluted bunch of non-sensical navel gazing I've ever seen.

99% of all people have no moral qualms with birth control, but "The Church" does, so this faceless, microscopic group is championed by the right. And, of course, no one cares about the freedom FROM religion for the employees.

And can someone smarter than me explain how the organization isn't paying for the contraception coverage? It's provided by the insurance company at "no cost", while the organization pays the monthly premium of the whole policy? How exactly is the contraception coverage being funded?

End mindless rant.

[sandnsea]

(02-10-2012 01:58 PM)Still a Democrat Wrote:  This whole thing is the most convoluted bunch of non-sensical navel gazing I've ever seen.

99% of all people have no moral qualms with birth control, but "The Church" does, so this faceless, microscopic group is championed by the right. And, of course, no one cares about the freedom FROM religion for the employees.

And can someone smarter than me explain how the organization isn't paying for the contraception coverage? It's provided by the insurance company at "no cost", while the organization pays the monthly premium of the whole policy? How exactly is the contraception coverage being funded?

End mindless rant.

Agree completely. Just another nonsensical bandwagon for the haters to jump on. Unfortunately some of our own bought in, including John Kerry. I hope Teresa smacks him silly. Anyhoo, I imagine it'll be paid for the way the abortion rider is offered, an extra fee and extra fund managed separately. Is the Church or the Insurance industry more powerful? I can't believe they like this nonsense.

[jaxx]

Best I've seen on this issue:

TheDailyEdge Everybody Needs It
#GOP Leaders Slam #Obama Birth Control Compromise: "Why Does He Always Find Such a Smart & Reasonable Way to Make Us Look So Fucking Dumb?"

[jaxx]

President Obama Contraception Mandate Statement

[PoliticalTiger]

This report from Mother Jones points out:

"The most important reproductive rights groups—Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, the American Civil Liberties Union, and so on—all support the policy shift. You can bet that these politically savvy groups would be hollering to high heaven if they thought that women had been betrayed."

It's a good artice. Here's the link:
Obama Didn't Cave on Birth Control

[Hekate]

(02-10-2012 04:11 PM)PoliticalTiger Wrote:  This report from Mother Jones points out:

"The most important reproductive rights groups—Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, the American Civil Liberties Union, and so on—all support the policy shift. You can bet that these politically savvy groups would be hollering to high heaven if they thought that women had been betrayed."

It's a good artice. Here's the link:
Obama Didn't Cave on Birth Control

How does he do it? Once again, PT, I am awestruck at his ability to just keep going until the job gets done, despite the howling and whining and kicking and screaming of the RW and the PL.