The Biden administration on Monday quietly withdrew a proposal to roll back the ability of employers to opt out of birth control for their employees.
Announced by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) news The agency announced in the Federal Register on Monday that it is rescinding a proposed regulation that would have prohibited employers from exempting employers from the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) contraceptive mandate based on “secular moral objections.” . The agency said it chose to withdraw the proposed regulations in order to “focus our time and resources on matters other than finalizing these rules” as the end of the Biden administration nears.
The decision to rescind the regulation effectively leaves in place a 2018 rule from the first Trump administration that allowed employers who object to contraceptive coverage to opt out of the ACA’s mandate. means. According to To Politico. Trump-era rules allow insurance companies and health plans to cut coverage of contraceptives to employers and private colleges that object. (Related: Biden HHS nominee Becerra: ‘I’ve never sued a nun’)
‘It’s not a training’: James Carville loses over concerns that SCOTUS will ban condoms and contraceptives from mail if Trump is re-elected https://t.co/f05X8ZN3YK
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According to Politico, the Biden administration expected about 130,000 more people to become eligible for birth control under the now-defeated proposal. Biden’s regulations would also allow employees of opposing religious employers to continue receiving free birth control directly from their health care companies.
The Beckett Fund for Religious Freedom, the group that represented the Little Sisters of the Poor in the lawsuit against the ACA’s contraceptive mandate, addressed HHS’ decision to rescind the regulation in a series of statements Tuesday. . Post to X, formerly Twitter.
“In 2011, the federal government ordered these nuns to park their convicted car at the entrance to a public square or face a multimillion-dollar fine. “It wasn’t much of an option, so we fought back in court,” the Beckett Fund wrote. “With Beckett’s help, they defeated the federal government. [the Supreme Court]not once but twice, and now in court defending their department against a group of states led by California and Pennsylvania. ”
“These legal battles have been in ice for years due to the new contraceptive mandate rules that the Biden administration continues to promise,” the statement continues. “As previously stated, no new regulations will be issued. This will resolve the lawsuit against the state and ensure that nuns whose sole mission is to care for the dying elderly until God calls them home. We hope it will lead to a great victory.”
HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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