FILE - In this May 15, 2012 file photo, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius speaks in Bethesda, Md. Facing a wave of lawsuits over what government can tell religious groups to do, the Obama administration on Friday proposed a compromise for faith-based nonprofits that object to covering birth control in their employee health plans. Sebelius said in a statement that the compromise would provide "women across the nation with coverage of recommended preventive care at no cost, while respecting religious concerns." (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
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FILE - In this May 15, 2012 file photo, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius speaks in Bethesda, Md. Facing a wave of lawsuits over what government can tell religious groups to do, the Obama administration on Friday proposed a compromise for faith-based nonprofits that object to covering birth control in their employee health plans. Sebelius said in a statement that the compromise would provide "women across the nation with coverage of recommended preventive care at no cost, while respecting religious concerns." (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
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FILE - This Jan. 10, 2013 file photo show Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer in her office at the Capitol in Phoenix. Governors who reject health insurance for the poor under the federal health care overhaul could wind up in a politically awkward position on immigration: A quirk in the law means some U.S. citizens would be forced to go without coverage, while legal immigrants residing in the same state could still get it. Arizona officials called attention to the problem last week, when Brewer announced she would accept the expansion of Medicaid offered under Obama’s law. Brewer had been a leading opponent of the overhaul, and her decision got widespread attention. Budget documents cited the immigration glitch as one of her reasons. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)
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This Friday, Dec. 7, 2012, photo, shows a construction worker at a new site for a future Fresh & Easy supermarket in Los Angeles. The average number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits in December fell to the lowest level since March 2008, a sign that the job market is healing. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
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In this photo taken Monday, Nov. 12, 2012, Amy Cunninghis, left, and Karen Golinski, right, walk down a street near their home in San Francisco. All Golinski wanted was to enroll her spouse in her employer-sponsored health plan. Four years later, her request still is being debated. Because Golinski is married to another woman and she works for the federal government, her personal personnel problem has morphed into a multi-pronged legal attack by gay rights activists to overturn the 1996 law that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
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In this photo taken Monday, Nov. 12, 2012, Amy Cunninghis, left, and Karen Golinski, pose at a park by their home in San Francisco. All Golinski wanted was to enroll her spouse in her employer-sponsored health plan. Four years later, her request still is being debated. Because Golinski is married to another woman and she works for the federal government, her personal personnel problem has morphed into a multi-pronged legal attack by gay rights activists to overturn the 1996 law that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
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In this photo taken Monday, Nov. 12, 2012, Karen Golinski, left, and Amy Cunninghis, look over a photo album of their wedding photos in San Francisco. All Golinski wanted was to enroll her spouse in her employer-sponsored health plan. Four years later, her request still is being debated. Because Golinski is married to another woman and she works for the federal government, her personal personnel problem has morphed into a multi-pronged legal attack by gay rights activists to overturn the 1996 law that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)
Bishops press for broader birth control exemption
American bishops said Thursday the Obama administration's latest compromise on birth control coverage and religious employers doesn't go far enough to answer church concerns.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said a bigger buffer is needed between religious charities and any third party arranging contraceptive coverage. Bishops also want a clearer statement that faith-affiliated hospitals and other nonprofits are religious ministries. And church leaders continue pressing for an exemption for owners of for-profit business who say the requirement forces them to violate their religious beliefs. The government has given no indication that it is considering a religious opt-out for business owners.
The bishops made their comments nearly a week after the Department of Health and Human Services announced another revision on coverage for contraception. The regulation is part of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, known as the Affordable Care Act, and is meant to help space pregnancies and promote women's health.
The department had no reaction Thursday to the bishops' criticism, pointing only to an earlier pledge that the government wants to find a solution that would provide the coverage to women while respecting religious concerns.
The HHS announced the proposed rules a year ago. The initial plan contained a religious exemption that many faith groups, including many who have been supportive of health care reform, said was too narrow. The rule covered churches and other houses of worship but not faith-affiliated hospitals, charities, colleges and other nonprofits.
Dozens of religious groups and for-profit business owners have sued over the regulation, saying it violates their religious rights. Advocates for the broadest coverage argued employers are trying to impose their religious beliefs on workers. The issue is expected to reach the Supreme Court.
The Obama administration, meanwhile, has been trying to develop a plan that could resolve religious concerns.
Under the proposal the government offered last week, the definition of a religious organization was simplified. It would now include, for example, a mosque whose food pantry serves the entire community and not just its own members.
For other religious employers, the new approach attempted to put a barrier between religious charities and contraception coverage. Female employees would still have free access through insurers or a third party, but the employer would not have to arrange for the coverage or pay for it. Insurers would be reimbursed for any costs by a credit against fees owed the government.
New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the bishops' conference, said the proposal creates an unacceptable second-class status for faith-affiliated hospitals, colleges and charities "rather than accepting the fact that these ministries are integral to our church and worthy of the same exemption as our Catholic churches." The plan for an insurer or third party to arrange birth control coverage leaves "the possibility that ministries may yet be forced to fund and facilitate such morally illicit activities," Dolan said.
"Throughout the past year, we have been assured by the administration that we will not have to refer, pay for, or negotiate for the mandated coverage," Dolan said in a statement. "We remain eager for the administration to fulfill that pledge and to find acceptable solutions."
The revised mandate is subject to a 60-day public comment period. The overall mandate is to take effect for religious nonprofits in August.
The Catholic Health Association, the hospital trade group whose support was critical for passage of Obama's health care legislation, had also sought a broader religious exemption. The association hasn't yet commented on the new proposal, but said Thursday it will do so after seeking input from members.
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Health and Human Services Department explanation of rules: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2013pres/02/20130201a.html
Catholic bishops' statement: http://www.usccb.org/news/2013/13-037.cfm
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