New Rules May Weaken Employer Birth Control Mandate

WASHINGTON – A pair of new rules may weaken Obamacare’s controversial contraceptive mandate.
The rules, first issued last year on an interim basis, were made official Wednesday by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Those rules allow a number of employers, including non-profits and small businesses, to stop offering contraceptives through their health insurance plan if they object for religious or moral reasons.
Officials says the new rules should affect about 200 employers who have such objections adding that government programs that provide free or subsidized contraceptive coverage to low-income women will continue.