President Barack Obama-Free Birth Control-Religious Groups-Health Insurers

Health insurers question Obama birth control plan

(Reuters) - Health insurers said on Friday they feared President Barack Obama had set a new precedent by making them responsible for providing Free Birth Control to employees of religious groups as he sought to defuse an election-year landmine. Obama on Friday announced the policy shift in an effort to accommodate religious organizations, such as Catholic hospitals and universities, whose leaders are outraged by a new rule that would have required them to offer free contraceptive coverage to employees. ... read more..

source:yahoo.com

President Barack Obama-Free Birth Control-Religious Groups-Health Insurers-Administration

Insurers see costs in Obama birth control rule

(Reuters) - The Obama administration maintains that its plan to have health insurers pay for Birth Control offered to employees of religious groups won't end up costing the industry. But insurers aren't so confident. Last Friday, President Barack Obama sought to placate outraged leaders of the Catholic church, which opposes contraception, by making insurers responsible for providing the Free Birth Control. Obama's 2010 healthcare law mandates free contraception. ... read more..

source:yahoo.com

President Barack Obama-Abrupt Policy Shift-Free Birth Control

Obama shift seeks to defuse birth-control fight

President Barack Obama talks about providing states flexibility under reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act in the East Room of the White House in Washington

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama, in an abrupt policy shift aimed at quelling an election-year firestorm, announced on Friday that religious employers would not be required to offer free birth control to workers and the onus would instead be put on insurers. But Catholic Church leaders and Obama's Republican opponents, who had railed against the Democratic president's new rule on contraceptives as a violation of religious freedom, signaled that divisions remain over the hot-button social issue. ... read more..

source:yahoo.com

President Barack Obama-Free Birth Control-Religious Groups-Health Insurers

Insurers stuck with cost of Obama birth-control plan

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama's compromise on free birth control coverage left health insurers stuck with the bill, sparking worries over the precedent set by the new policy. Obama on Friday made insurers responsible for providing free birth control to employees of religious groups, aiming to placate outraged leaders of the Catholic church who oppose contraception and to defuse an election-year landmine. Free birth control is mandated under Obama's 2010 healthcare law. ... read more..

source:yahoo.com

Conference Of Catholic Bishops-President Barack Obama-U.S. Catholic Bishops-U.S. Catholic Church

U.S. Catholic bishops oppose Obama birth-control plan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Catholic Church leaders said they will fight President Barack Obama's controversial birth-control insurance coverage policy despite his compromise that religious employers would not have to offer free contraceptives for workers, shifting the responsibility to insurers. In an abrupt policy shift aimed at trying to end a growing election-year firestorm, Obama on Friday announced the compromise. But the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said its concerns were not addressed and cited "serious moral concerns. ... read more..

source:yahoo.com

President Barack Obama-Religious Freedom-Contraceptives-Birth Control-John Boehner

Obama birth-control rule stokes election-year fight

House Speaker John Boehner speaks during the GOP news conference on the Keystone XL pipeline decision in Washington

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Republican in the Congress on Wednesday denounced President Barack Obama's new rule on contraceptives as an assault on "religious freedom" and vowed to overturn it, as the White House sought to prevent the issue from becoming an election-year liability. Fanning a political firestorm, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner joined an outcry from religious leaders and social conservatives over a requirement that health insurance plans, including those at Catholic hospitals, charities and universities, offer birth control to women. ... read more..

source:yahoo.com

Religious Organization-President Barack Obama-Republican Critics-Birth Control

Obama forges compromise birth control plan

Under a compromise, religious organization will not have to offer free contraception on employee health plans

US President Barack Obama Friday announced a compromise to defuse a row over access to birth control which prompted election-year Republican critics to claim he was waging a war on religion. read more..

source:yahoo.com