NH Senate sets hearing on birth control exemption
CONCORD, N.H.—A Senate committee is taking up the issue of whether employers with religious objections should be allowed to exclude contraceptive coverage for health plans for their New Hampshire workers.
The Senate Public and Municipal Affairs Committee is holding a hearing Tuesday morning on the House-passed bill championed by Republican House Speaker William O'Brien.
O'Brien, who is Catholic, began championing the exemption after the federal government issued a rule requiring health insurance companies to provide contraceptives to employees of religious organizations.
Opponents say the bill attacks a fundamental right of women.
The 12-year-old law O'Brien proposes to change only requires coverage of contraceptives if other drugs also are covered. Employers also can avoid state mandates altogether by self-insuring.
