The Obama compromise is in the NYT - women get free contraceptives [View all]

I guess Kerry gave the Obama administration more credit than I did (or than anyone else did here). Every condition in Kerry's statement is met. This is a win for everyone. The new plan is better than old in that it covers EVERY woman, even those directly working for the church

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Today, President Obama announced that his Administration will implement a policy that accommodates religious liberty while protecting the health of women. Today, nearly 99 percent of all women have used contraception at some point in their lives, but more than half of all women between the ages of 18-34 struggle to afford it.

Under the new policy announced today, women will have free preventive care that includes contraceptive services no matter where she works. The policy also ensures that if a woman works for religious employers with objections to providing contraceptive services as part of its health plan, the religious employer will not be required to provide contraception coverage but her insurance company will be required to offer contraceptive care free of charge.

The new policy ensures women can get contraception without paying a co-pay and addresses important concerns raised by religious groups by ensuring that objecting religious employers will not have to provide contraceptive coverage or refer women to organizations that provide contraception. Background on this policy is included below:
<snip>
Covering contraception saves money for insurance companies by keeping women healthy and preventing spending on other health services. For example, there was no increase in premiums when contraception was added to the Federal Employees Health Benefit System and required of non-religious employers in Hawaii. One study found that covering contraception lowered premiums by 10 percent or more.


http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2012/02/10/us/politics/10reuters-usa-contraceptives-factsheet.html?ref=reuters

Now look back at what Kerry actually said:

In a statement, Kerry said, "I think the Administration is working towards a final rule that reflects a reasonable compromise. I think there's a way to protect everybody's interest here. I think you can implement it effectively in a way that protects women's access, but at the same time protects people's religious beliefs, and that should be everyone’s goal.""

II don't think it will make everybody happy - after all this will make Santorum and many others pretty sad.