#1: While the revised HHS mandate reduces the number of
tests for a religiously based non-profit to qualify as a “religious
employer” and thereby receive an exemption from its requirements, in point
of fact, it does NOT expand the number of non-profits that can escape its
clutches.
Under the new rules proposed February 1, in order to qualify for an
exemption, non-profits no longer have to exist for the purpose of
inculcating religious values, nor do they have to employ or serve only
people of their own faith. They do, however, have to be what the IRS defines
as churches or their affiliated organizations. This
categorization does not include Catholic hospitals, schools, or social
service agencies - or Priests for Life!. In fact, in its Fact
Sheet on the revised mandate, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services’ Center for Consumer Information and Oversight states: “The
Departments believe that this proposal would not expand the universe of
employer plans that would qualify for the exemption beyond that which was
intended in the 2012 final rules.” In other words, the new standards for
determining a “religious employer” constitute a distinction without a
difference. Basically, if you didn’t qualify for an exemption before, you
still won’t now.
#2: The newly revised HHS mandate states that the
employees of religiously-based non-profits will be issued separate coverage
for “preventive health care services” such as abortifacients,
contraceptives, and sterilization by insurance companies, not
employers. The new mandate also stipulates that such coverage will be at no
cost to the employees. While this “accommodation” is supposed to take
employers out of the business of providing morally objectionable coverage,
it fails to do so for two reasons:
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First, the mandate does not explain how such coverage will be
financed – somehow the insurance companies are just supposed to
absorb the cost for such coverage themselves. The reality, of
course, is that insurance companies will pass along the cost of such
separate coverage, one way or another, to their clients. Health
insurance companies don’t provide contraceptives or sterilization
for free now – why would they start doing so in the future?
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The other problem with this “compromise” is that religiously based
non-profits are still being forced to give employees coverage that
they deem immoral and violations of their faith. Regardless of who’s
paying for such immoral 'services,' the 'services' remain
objectionable and the employer remains the "gateway" to the
employee's coverage.
#3: The revised mandate does not even pretend to offer
any “compromise” to private businesses.
Religious individuals who operate for-profit companies with 50 or more
employees are still obligated to pay for employee health insurance
plans that cover abortifacients, contraceptives, and sterilization with no
co-pays. The alternatives for business owners who do not wish to violate
their religious beliefs are: a) pay crushing fines; or b) close your doors.
#4: There are still no provisions to allow
individual employees to opt out of the morally objectionable coverage that
their employers are forced to provide.
At one point the public was able to send a message to HHS.