White House Revamps Contraception Rules

The Obama administration today officially issued a proposed change to its rule mandating that employers offer their female employees insurance that includes copay-free access to contraception. Under the new rule, women who work for a religiously-affiliated employer, such as a Catholic hospital, will still get free access to contraceptives, but their employers won't need to pay for it. The employer will instead notify their insurance provider of their exemption, and the insurer will notify the employee that the contraception is coming from a separate policy, USA Today explains.

The rule drew praise from the executive director of Catholics United. Health and Human Services "has done the right thing," he said, according to Politico. "This is a victory not only for the Obama administration, but for the Catholic Church." But the rule hews fairly close to Obama's already announced compromise, which some Catholics had declared inadequate. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has so far only said it will review the new regulations. The administration also ruled out broadening the exemption to encompass any company whose owner had a religious objection, the Hill points out. (More Obama administration stories.)