Sebelius hints at contraception 'accomodation' during House testimony

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Mar 3 2012

Lawmakers questioned Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius about a range of issues, including the president's proposed 2013 budget.

Modern Healthcare: Lawmakers Query Sebelius On Reform, Budget
Delayed regulations, implementation costs of the healthcare reform law, and mandated contraception coverage in health plans were among the top issues Thursday at a congressional hearing featuring HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius as the sole witness. ... She said the administration "will offer a variety of strategies" to ensure religious liberties are respected and millions of women have access to these services, and offered working with third-party administrators as one possibility (Zigmond, 3/1).

CQ HealthBeat: Sebelius Says Third Party Administrators May Be Enlisted To Provide Contraceptive Coverage
Her statement at a House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing seemingly addresses one of the big unanswered questions about an Obama administration "accommodation" on contraception recently announced by White House officials. The policy adjustment responded to objections by some religious leaders to a health care law requirement that employers cover contraceptive products (Reichard, 3/1).

CQ HealthBeat: Sebelius Gets An Earful From House GOP About Timing Of HHS Regulations
House Republicans grilled the secretary of Health and Human Services on Thursday about the implementation of the 2010 health care overhaul and slammed the department for not issuing its regulations sooner. ... [Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health] Chairman Joe Pitts, R-Pa., expressed concern that final rules have not yet been released on several components of the law, saying that the situation is "symbolic with the state of regulation in Washington" (Attias, 3/1).

This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

Posted in: Women's Health News | Healthcare News

Tags: Contraception, Contraceptive, Health and Human Services, Health Care, Healthcare, Hearing, Research

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The Contraception Stalking Horse

EWRoss says:

March 4, 2012 at 11:51 AM

The free contraception mandate in Obamacare is stalking horse for more ominous policies to come. On Mar 1, in her testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius made it clear why the Obama administration is pushing free contraception for women and seeks also to curtail religious freedom and force certain Catholic institutions to provide free contraception against their religious doctrine. She said; “The reduction in a number of pregnancies compensates for the cost of contraception.” To which Tim Murphy (R-PA) responded, “So you’re saying by not having babies born, we’re going to save money on healthcare?”—a remark Ms. Sebelius did not take issue with. Free contraception, of course, isn't the only way to prevent the birth of more babies; the next step is free abortions.

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