Romney says he would keep parts of Obama healthcare law

"Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney talks to reporters at the airport in Sergeant Bluff, Iowa September 7, 2012. REUTERS/Brian Snyder" title

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Catholic business owners win temporary halt to Obama birth control mandate

Reuters – Fri, Jul 27, 2012 (Reuters) - A Colorado business owned by a Catholic family does not have to comply with President Barack Obama's new healthcare mandate that private employers provide employees with insurance coverage of birth control, a Colorado federal judge ruled on Friday.

District Judge John Kane in Denver temporarily blocked the government from the enforcing the contraception requirement against the religious owners of Hercules Industries Inc, a private manufacturer of heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment.

The ruling only affects this plaintiff but opens the door for any company to seek relief on religious grounds. Lawyers for the Department of Health and Human Services argued that a temporary exemption for Hercules would interfere with the government's ability to implement the law. But Kane was not persuaded.

"This harm pales in comparison to the possible infringement upon (the Newland family's) constitutional and statutory rights," the judge wrote. He noted that the government had already created numerous exceptions for religious employers, exempting over 190 million health plan participants.

The law posed an imminent harm to the company's owners by forcing them to support contraception, sterilization and abortion in violation of their religious beliefs or face steep fines, Kane said.

Members of the Newland family, which owns Hercules, sued in April, challenging the provision that is part of the new health care law, the Affordable Care Act of 2010.

Roman Catholic bishops and many Republican lawmakers oppose the provision. The Catholic Church launched a campaign against it from Sunday Mass pulpits across the country. Catholic Church doctrine opposes artificial contraception but most American Catholics do not adhere to church policy.

Hercules provides a self-insured group plan for its 265 full-time employees that does not cover birth control, sterilization or abortion-inducing drugs. But the new regulation would require Hercules to provide such coverage by November 1, the ruling said.

Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius expressed disappointment with the decision in a statement.

"This lawsuit was not brought by a religious organization. Rather, it was brought by a for-profit commercial enterprise whose purpose is to sell HVAC equipment," she said, adding that healthcare decisions should be between women and their doctors, not their employers.

"Every American, including family business owners, should be free to live and do business according to their faith," Matthew Bowman, a lawyer for Hercules with the Alliance Defense Fund, said in a statement.

More than 20 lawsuits are pending around the country against the birth control mandate, brought by organizations including the University of Notre Dame, Catholic University of America and the Archdiocese of New York.

On July 17, another federal judge in Nebraska dismissed a similar lawsuit brought by seven states, two Catholic individuals and three Catholic non-profit institutions, finding that the plaintiffs did not face any immediate harm from the law.

(Reporting by Terry Baynes in New York; Editing by Greg McCune and Lisa Shumaker)

(This story was corrected to fix the name of family to Newland instead of Newman)

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Romney, in switch, says Obama healthcare a tax

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Ruling ups support for Obama healthcare, still unpopular

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Supreme Court hands Obama 'victory' on health

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Isn't it "marvelous?" Obama seeks to define Romney for voters

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US Supreme Court in final day of Obama health law hearings

"Two policemen guard outside the US Supreme Court. US Supreme Court justices battled Wednesday over the fate of President Barack Obama's landmark healthcare law, with liberals fighting to salvage the rest of the law if a key provision is declared unconstitutional. (AFP Photo/Mladen Antonov)" title

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Supreme court unlikely to delay Obama healthcare ruling

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Obama administration details contraceptives rule fix

Reuters – Fri, Mar 16, 2012 (Reuters) - The Obama administration began laying out its blueprint on Friday for accommodating the moral concerns of religious institutions that oppose its policy of requiring free coverage for women's contraceptives through employer-sponsored health plans.

The move came a month after the White House tried to calm a furor among Roman Catholic bishops and other social conservatives by announcing it would not require church-run hospitals, universities and charities to foot the bill for birth control coverage but instead shift the burden to insurers.

The administration released preliminary regulatory language for an eventual rule that addressed a number of issues, including a yet-to-be-solved problem of religious institutions that provide their own health insurance.

The action's bearing on birth control and religious freedom places it at the center of incendiary issues that have moved to the forefront of the election campaign for control of the White House and Congress.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which has spearheaded opposition to Obama contraceptives policies, said it would examine the administration's new proposed language to see if it met its demands.

But conference spokeswoman Sister Mary Ann Walsh chided the administration for releasing the document late on a Friday as Catholic leaders prepared to observe St. Patrick's Day on Saturday.

The proposal provoked anger from some religious groups.

"This does nothing," said Michael O'Dea, executive director of the Christus Medicus Foundation, which promotes Christian healthcare. "It's bogus."

The Department of Health and Human Services' notice of rulemaking gave special emphasis to protections for self-insured religious institutions that have been a prime concern for Roman Catholic authorities.

"Our principle is that the religious employer who's self-insured will not be paying for this coverage, full stop," an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity told reporters in a conference call.

The notice calls for third-party administrators including insurers to handle contraceptive coverage for self-insured groups.

Costs would be covered through a range of options unrelated to the employer, including drug rebates, reinsurance credits and multistate insurance plans.

The public will have 90 days to comment on the notice.

SPLIT OPINION

A policy adopted last month requires that most employers provide free coverage for women's birth control under the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Obama's signature healthcare overhaul.

Churches and other places of worship are exempt. But the rule now on the books applies to religiously affiliated hospitals, universities, charities and other institutions.

Friday's action won praise from women's health advocates and other Obama allies who saw it as reasonable effort to resolve differences with the Catholic clergy.

"The proposal released today make clears that the Obama administration is fulfilling its promise that women will have access to birth control coverage, with no costly co-pays and no additional hurdles, no matter where they work," Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards said in a statement.

"In my estimation, this definitely moves things forward toward something the American bishops might be more willing to consider," said Stephen Schneck, a political scientist at The Catholic University of America, who advised Obama on how to reach out to the church.

Friday's announcement followed weeks of behind-the-scenes meetings between administration officials and stakeholders including Catholic bishops and insurance industry representatives.

There was no word on when proposed regulations might become final. The administration's current policy does not come into force for religious employers or educators until August 1, 2013.

(Additional reporting by Anna Yukhananov; Editing by Peter Cooney)

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Artist depicts Obama burning Constitution

SONG 1’: Artist turns museum into giant video presentationEntries By CategoryAboutJacqueline TrescottJazzNational Endowment for the Artsnational endowment for the humanitiesStories By DateFull Monthly Archive Posted at 12:51 PM ET, 03/22/2012TheWashingtonPostBy Maura Judkis

Jon McNaughton, a conservative Utah artist, has released a controversial new painting: an image of President Obama burning the Constitution. The painting is called “One Nation Under Socialism.”

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In other news: Cee Lo sort of apologizes, sort of doesn’t, for singing that song at Obama fundraiser

such a gentleman’ says Bash Kazi, who was helped by British royal after polo accidentSurreal Estate: Ed and Edwina Rogers list McLean mansionIn other news...: Sarkozy scolds veggie-throwing sonQuoted: Idris Elba on his trip to the White House state dinnerEntries By CategoryCelebvocateFirst FamilyHeyIn other news...LovePartiesPoliticsQuotedRead ThisSurreal EstateUpdateWhite House Correspondents' Association DinnerWhite House State DinnerStories By DateFull Monthly Archive Posted at 12:45 PM ET, 03/19/2012TheWashingtonPostBy The Reliable Source

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