Blunt Amendment up for Vote This Week - Lose/Lose for the GOP

[K Gardner]

Obama's Affordable Care Act requires all health care plans to offer certain services and benefits, including birth control. Last week, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) offered a "conscience amendment," to the law, pitching it as a way to allay religious employers' qualms about providing birth control to their employees.

But Blunt's proposal doesn't just apply to religious employers and birth control. Instead, it would allow any insurer or employer, religiously affiliated or otherwise, to opt out of providing any health care services required by federal law—everything from maternity care to screening for diabetes. Employers wouldn't have to cite religious reasons for their decision; they could just say the treatment goes against their moral convictions. That exception could include almost anything—an employer could theoretically claim a "moral objection" to the cost of providing a given benefit. The bill would also allow employers to sue if state or federal regulators try to make them comply with the law.

http://motherjones.com/politics/2012/02/republican-plan-give-bosses-moral-control-health-insurance

Greg Sargent talks to Elizabeth Warren, who walks right through it.

“I am shocked that Senator Brown jumped in to support such an extreme measure,” Warren told me by phone just now. “This is an all new attack on health care. Any insurance company could leave anyone without health care, just when they need it most... This is an extreme attack on every one of us. It opens the door to outright discrimination. It would let insurance companies and corporations cut off pregnant women, overweight guys, older Americans, or anyone — because some executive claims it’s part of his moral code. Maybe that wouldn’t happen, but I don’t want to take the chance.”

And this is how Republicans can lose control of the issue.


http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2012/02/14/the_blunt_amendment_or_the_contraceptives_issue_turns.html

Very smart of Harry Reid to allow this to come up for a vote. The Blunt Amendment is co-sponsored by none other than.. yes, Scott Brown ! The GOP are self-immolating en masse this year.

[greymattermom]

1. good rumor to start

Federal health insurance will not include drinkers, smokers or chubs under this plan.

[K Gardner]

2. That's not a rumor.. if this thing passes, written in the broad language

it's written, that's not a far stretch !

[Vincardog]

3. OR anyone who is not pretty or anyone who is not blond, or anyone less than 6': I have moral

objections to giving health care to anyone who is not a blue eyed Aryan of pure blood.

So it starts

[K Gardner]

4. TX4Obama's post here goes into the ramifications of this.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/125112505

[Proud Liberal Dem]

5. Republicans seem to only be concerned about the freedom of employers

to make their employees slaves.