Administration issues proposed rule on contraception coverage mandate and nonprofit religious organizations

The Department of Health and Human Services today announced a proposed rule that, according to an agency press release, lays out "how nonprofit religious organizations, such as nonprofit religious hospitals or institutions of higher education, that object to contraception on religious grounds can receive an accommodation that provides their enrollees separate contraceptive coverage, and with no co-pays, but at no cost to the religious organization."

Here's the HHS fact sheet and proposed rule.

Politico: Obama Administration Changes Contraception Rules
After a year of controversy, the Obama administration has changed contraceptive health coverage requirements for religious institutions that pay for their own insurance and objected to the policy on moral grounds. The Health and Human Services Department announced the new policy Friday morning: Women will still be able to get the same health benefits, but the new rule announced exempts certain religious employers from paying for it (Slack and Haberkorn, 2/1).

The Hill's Healthwatch: HHS Rejects Calls For Broad Opt-Out To Contraception Mandate
Obama administration said Friday that it will not provide broad exceptions to the contraception mandate in its signature healthcare law. The Health and Human Services Department rejected calls to let any employer opt out of the mandate based on religious objections to contraception. Instead, the department released regulations that hew largely to the policy it had previously announced (Baker, 2/1).

The Associated Press/Washington Post: Obama Administration Offers Faith Groups New Opt-Out Of Health Care Birth Control Mandate
The administration is allowing religious nonprofits to offer coverage that does not include contraception. In such a case, a third-party issuer will handle all business related to providing birth-control coverage for women, according to a source familiar with the changes who spoke only on condition of anonymity (2/1).

USA Today: HHS Issues Proposed Contraception Coverage Rule
Under the proposed rule, religious organizations would inform their insurer of their exemption, and then the insurer would inform the organization's employees that the insurer would provide them with no-cost contraceptive coverage through a separate insurance policy not connected to the religious employer (Kennedy, 12/1).

Kaiser Health News will continue to update information about this development through the afternoon.