AP |
CNN first reported, citing two sources in the administration, that the Obama administration will now allow religious institutions to opt out of coverage on moral grounds.
The new policy will still require most employers to cover contraception in their employees' healthcare plans. But the new rules would exempt institutions that fit a definition of a "religious institution."
Here are HHS' four criteria for meeting that definition:
- opposes providing coverage for some or all of any contraceptive services required to be covered under Section 2713 of the PHS Act, on account of religious objections;
- is organized and operates as a nonprofit entity;
- holds itself out as a religious organization; and
- self-certifies that it meets these criteria and specifies the contraceptive services for which it objects to providing coverage.
Employees at religious institutions could still receive contraceptive coverage through separate individual health insurance policies, without cost sharing or additional premiums.
The change comes about a year after the administration incurred a firestorm over the policy that mandated religious groups to cover contraceptives in their insurance plans as part of the Affordable Care Act. The