Obama: Health Insurers Will Foot the Bill for the Pill

Most health plans will be required to fully cover the cost of birth control without charging deductibles or co-payments beginning Aug. 1, the Obama administration said Friday.

The announcement caps months of debate over birth control coverage since Obama's health care overhaul was signed into law. Religious institutions have loudly objected to requirements that would force them to cover prescription contraceptives, saying it conflicted with their beliefs.

Friday's announcement by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius does not affect churches, synagogues and other houses of worship, but religious-affiliated hospitals and universities will have only a one-year delay before they must be brought into compliance, according to the Associated Press. Such institutions traditionally have not provided birth control coverage to their employees.

"This decision was made after very careful consideration, including the important concerns some have raised about religious liberty," Sebelius said in a statement. "I believe this proposal strikes the appropriate balance between respecting religious freedom and increasing access to important preventive services."

Birth control is considered a preventative care service under the health care law. The vast majority of health care plans do cover birth control, though the law eliminates deductibles or co-payments for patients.

Abortion rights groups quickly lauded the decision, according to The Hill.

"Birth control is not just basic health care for women, it is an economic concern," Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement. "This common sense decision means that millions of women, who would otherwise pay $15 to $50 a month, will have access to affordable birth control, helping them save hundreds of dollars each year."

Meanwhile, congressional Republicans came out forcefully against it, accusing the administration of essentially ruling against religion and of trying to "appease its liberal base" in an election year.

"This ruling forces religious organizations to violate the fundamental tenets of their faith, or stop offering health insurance coverage to their employees," the U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee said in a statement. "Time will tell whether those institutions choose the former or the latter course – but neither option should be necessary, if the Administration had not taken such an unbending approach to appease its liberal base."