Catholic Hospitals Say Exemption For Mandated Contraceptive Coverage Is Too Narrow

As previously reported, last month the Departments of Treasury, Labor and HHS issued for comment interim final rules on preventive health care services for women. They include an exemption for "religious employers" from the requirement that insurance plans fully cover contraceptive services. However, according to Fox News yesterday, Catholic hospitals, among others, object that the exemption is too narrow.  Under the interim rules, a religious employer is defined as

an organization that meets all of the following criteria: (1) The inculcation of religious values is the purpose of the organization. (2) The organization primarily employs persons who share the religious tenets of the organization. (3) The organization serves primarily persons who share the religious tenets of the organization. (4) The organization is a nonprofit organization as described in ... the Internal Revenue Code....

Sister Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Association, calls this "the parish housekeeper exemption", because she says that is about all it covers.  The exemption is not broad enough to cover Catholic hospitals, most of which currently do not cover contraceptive services in the insurance plans they provide their employees. The Catholic Health Association supported President Obama's health care reform when it was working its way through Congress. (See prior posting.)