The White House policy requires employers to include contraception in their employees’ healthcare plans without charging a co-pay or deductible, but exempts churches and houses of worship. Religious-affiliated employers such as Catholic hospitals would not have to directly cover birth control in their healthcare plans, but their employees could still obtain it, without a co-pay, from their respective insurance companies.
The Blunt Amendment Creates a Huge Loophole, Allowing Employers and Plans to Use Religious or Moral Convictions to Eliminate Critical Health Care Services
The Blunt Amendment allows employers and insurance companies to refuse coverage of any health care service required under the new health care law based on undefined “religious beliefs or moral convictions.” This creates a huge loophole in the new health care law’s coverage requirements. For example, any corporation whose CEO opposes contraception based on his “moral convictions” could deny all coverage of contraception or any other service to the company’s employees. Even more disturbing, a CEO’s view of “morality” could potentially include concern for the cost of a particular benefit. Such broad, undefined refusals would result in millions of individuals losing vital health service coverage.
http://www.nwlc.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/blunt_amendment_fact_sheet_march_2012.pdf
Opponents of the Blunt amendment pointed out that the bill not only would have allowed employers to cherry-pick women's health care options based on moral beliefs, but it also would have rolled back some of the basic anti-discrimination protections in the Affordable Care Act. For instance, under the amendment, an employer could refuse to cover things like HIV/AIDS screenings, prenatal care for single mothers, mammograms, vaccinations for children and even screenings for diabetes based on objections to a perceived immoral lifestyle.
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“I’m not for the bill (the blunt amendment), but look, the idea of presidential candidates getting into questions about contraception within a relationship between a man and a woman, husband and wife, I’m not going there,” Romney answered.
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“Of course, I support the Blunt amendment".
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“I didn't understand his question,” Romney said on a Boston radio show later Wednesday. “Of course, I support the Blunt amendment.” And in a statement Thursday, Romney praised senators who backed the measure.
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Romney: You know, I made it very clear when I was being interviewed by George Stephanopoulos in a debate a while ago.
Contraception is working just fine, let’s just leave it alone.
Republicans contend that the Blunt amendment, which is expected to come up for a vote in the Senate on Thursday, would reverse the national health-care law’s requirement that all employers, including religious-affiliated institutions, provide health coverage that includes contraceptive care at no co-pay cost to employees.
“Governor Romney supports the Blunt Bill because he believes in a conscience exemption in health care for religious institutions and people of faith.”
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), came out in support of the measure Wednesday. But most national Democrats have hammered Republicans over the amendment, arguing that it would give employers broad discretion to deny their employees any type of coverage by citing the conscience exception
