Syracuse bishop: The president heard our voices on birth control
Washington, D.C. -- Central New Yorkers opposed to a new federal requirement for employers to provide free birth control in their health insurance reacted with caution Friday to a compromise offered to religious-affiliated schools, charities and hospitals.
President Barack Obama said employees at those institutions will be able to obtain free contraceptive coverage directly from health insurers, and their employers won’t have to provide it or pay for it.
Bishop Robert J. Cunningham of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse, an opponent of the federal mandate announced Jan. 20, said the president took a step in the right direction. “Obviously the president has heard our voices and the voices of so many across the country upset with his challenge to religious freedom,” Cunningham said Friday.
Cunningham cautioned that he still did not know how the compromise would treat the Diocese of Syracuse, which is self-insured in order to exempt itself from a similar birth control mandate that New York state passed in 2002. “That’s a big issue for us,” Cunningham said.
The Syracuse Diocese employs more than 1,400 people and includes related institutions such as Catholic Charities on its insurance plan.
Democrats approved of the compromise, but some conservative Republicans said they would withhold judgment.
U.S. Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle, R-Onondaga Hill, has been a critic of the proposal. Buerkle wants to sponsor a House bill to repeal the mandate. After the decision Friday, the congresswoman said she remains skeptical about the exemption for religious-affiliated institutions.
“I think the administration made a mistake, and now they are trying to graciously get out of it,” Buerkle said.
“I think it’s important the administration heard the voice of all Americans – that the First Amendment is not negotiable,” Buerkle said. “But I don’t see how they are going to deal with self-insured institutions.
Excellus Health Insurance - News
Washington -- Central New Yorkers opposed to a new federal requirement for employers to provide free birth control in their health insurance reacted with caution Friday to a compromise offered to religious-affiliated schools, charities and hospitals.
Excellus would not say how many people were receiving checks. Some people who talked to 13WHAM last year said they were forced to pay their health care bills when the insurance plan should have picked up the costs.
But patients with non-life-threatening medical conditions can overcrowd ERs. And they can waste valuable health care resources. Excellus BlueCross BlueShield took ER data that hospitals report to the state and applied a widely accepted formula to
Health insurers under a law passed in 2010 must seek prior approval of the Department of Financial Services for health insurance rate increases related to individuals, small groups and large groups that are community rated.
Beyond offering the GKAS event, we seek to find “dental homes” for children by working with local dentists who are willing to accept the reimbursements offered by various government sponsored healthcare insurance programs.
Glitch at Rochester Excellus may owe some a refund : GeneseeNow ...
A computer glitch last year at Rochester Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield may have impacted you if you are a member of the major health insurance provider with a high-deductible plan. The company says some customers could be receiving refund checks because they were either overcharged or had their claims denied. Excellus has been sending out refund checks and will continue to send out more. The check will include an additional interest payment for customers. “Excellus said We broke it. We own it. We fixed it and we were cleaning it up to make sure everyone who may have been impacted is made whole.” Excellus would not say how many people were receiving checks.