Health Insurance and You!

Late last month, the White House issued a new rule that health insurance plans must offer free birth control services for their employees. The policy, which has many religious leaders and conservatives up in arms, applies to all employers, including Catholic hospitals, charities, universities, and other organizations. With the 2012 presidential election just months away, politicians and analysts on both sides of the issue have been weighing in before the rule takes effect next year.

Yesterday, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner added his opinion to the mix, calling the policy an “attack…on religious freedom” and promising to overturn it, wrote Thomas Ferraro and Matt Spetalnick of Reuters. Rep. Boehner has taken a first step in that direction by asking the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to draft a bill to reverse the ruling, adds Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times. Such a bill would have an easier time passing the Republican-dominated House than the mostly Democrat Senate.

Catholic bishops support a reversal, according to Mr. Ferraro and Mr. Spetalnick. They say the decision interferes with the religious freedom of groups that are against contraceptives and birth control. Some Democrats agree as well. For example, Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania released a statement last Friday saying that while he strongly backs efforts to increase access to contraception, he doesn’t think religious organizations should be forced to contradict their own beliefs.

President Obama responded to Boehner’s comments by reconfirming the ruling. He and others in favor of the decision say that women should have access to birth control no matter where they work, and to deny them that access is an attack on women’s rights and health.

According to an analysis by Rachel Zoll of the Associated Press, published today, a compromise may be on the horizon. The White House doesn’t plan to reverse the ruling, but may revise how strongly it is enforced.