Chellie to White House: Don't Back Down on Rules Requiring Contraceptive Coverage

Statement

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree this afternoon urged the White House not to back down on a new rule requiring employers to provide health insurance coverage for preventive services, including contraception, at no cost to women. The rule provides an exception for churches and other religious institutions but the Administration has been under pressure to expand the exemption to a much wider range of employers.

"All women should have access to birth control at no cost no matter where they work," Pingree said. "Not only is it good preventive medicine that will reduce health care costs and unwanted pregnancies, it's also an economic issue. Having to pay for contraceptive coverage out-of-pocket is a big burden for many working women and they shouldn't be denied coverage because of who their employer is."

"There is already an expansive exemption under this provision," Pingree said. "About 335,000 churches and church associations around the country are exempted under the current rule."

But Pingree said expanding the exemption on providing no cost contraceptive coverage to institutions like Catholic hospitals could negatively affect hundreds of thousands of people.

"We are talking about nurses and janitors and kitchen staff of all faiths at hospitals all over the country that could find themselves without coverage for contraception. One out of seven hospital workers in this country work at Catholic hospitals, they shouldn't be discriminated against because of where they work."

Pingree also emphasized that the rule issued last month by the Obama Administration doesn't require that anyone actually use birth control.

"Let's be clear, no one is telling anyone they have to go out and get a prescription for birth control. This rule just requires most employers to give their employees that option," she said.

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