HHS gives some religious employers an extra year to comply with birth control rule

Press reports indicate that the Obama administration will not significantly change the requirement that most employers cover FDA-approved contraceptives as part of a health plan. The health law includes a requirement that most workplaces cover preventive services for free.

The Associated Press: Feds Grant 1-Year Extension On Birth Control Rule
The Obama administration is giving church-affiliated institutions an extra year to comply with a new rule that employers cover birth control free of charge through their health plans. ... [T]he extension applies to church-affiliated hospitals, universities, social service organizations and similar institutions. They will now have until August 1, 2013, to comply. ... Employer health plans in most cases have to comply by August of this year (Alonso-Zaldivar, 1/20).

The Washington Post: Obama Administration Holds To Birth Control Insurance Rule, Gives Religious Groups More Time To Comply
Birth control use is virtually universal in the United States, and most employer health plans already cover it, usually with copays for employees. Last year, an advisory panel from the prestigious Institute of Medicine recommended that the government require birth control coverage as preventive care under Obama's law, meaning it would become available free of charge (Aizenman, 1/20).

The New York Times: One-Year Extension for Churches on Birth Control Insurance
Churches, synagogues, mosques and other places of worship were already exempt, but some religious leaders wanted the exemption broadly expanded. Instead, the administration said after considering the request that non-profit institutions like hospitals and universities affiliated with churches could take a year longer to comply. "This additional year will allow these organizations more time and flexibility to adapt to this new rule," Ms. Sebelius said (Cushman Jr., 1/20).

Politico Pro: HHS To Give Extra Year On Contraception To Religious Employers
There was no immediate reaction from anti-abortion groups, but abortion-rights organizations quickly praised the decision. "The administration stood firm against intensive lobbying efforts from anti-birth-control organizations trying to expand the refusal option even further to allow organizations and corporations to deny their employees contraceptive coverage," Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said in a statement (Feder, 1/20).

Kaiser Health News will update the coverage of this announcement throughout the day.