Archive for January 31st, 2012
BACK AND FORTH: Free Birth Control vs. Freedom of Religion
Administrators at many Catholic universities are resisting new federal rules that will require health plans to cover contraceptive services for employees, while many of the schools’ students say current restrictions hinder access.
The new rules — which are part of a provision in the federal health reform law — require health plans to cover contraceptive services for employees without consumer cost-sharing. However, not-for-profit employers do not have to offer the coverage if they have the inculcation of religious values as their purpose, primarily employ individuals who hold certain religious beliefs and primarily serve a population with those religious tenets.
Catholic hospitals, universities and other organizations had pressured HHS to create an even broader exemption that would allow them to refuse to cover contraception for their employees, but the agency announced on Jan. 20 that it would not expand the exemption. HHS said it would give religiously affiliated employers an extra year to comply with the rule, meaning that they will have until Aug. 1, 2013, to begin providing the coverage. Read the rest of this entry »
AHL’S TOP STORY: Federal Judge Issues Temporary Injunction on California Medicare Payment Cuts
U.S. District Court Judge Christina Snyder yesterday temporarily blocked a 10% cut to physician reimbursements through Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, saying the cuts would cause “irreparable harm” to beneficiaries, the AP/Sacramento Bee reports (AP/Sacramento Bee, 1/30).
The cuts, which California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed last year, were part of the state’s strategy to alleviate its budget constraints (Mieszkowski, Bay Citizen, 1/31). Several California health care organizations filed a lawsuit challenging the payment cuts.
