Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Texas Obamacare Bill Would Give Tax Breaks To Companies That Don't Cover Contraception

Texas may consider rewarding companies for violating a key Obamacare provision.

State Rep. Jonathan Stickland (R) introduced a bill in the Texas House of Representatives on Thursday that would give tax breaks to companies that don't cover emergency contraception such as the morning-after pill, the Austin American-Statesman reports. Under Obamacare, company health insurance plans are required to fully cover employees' contraception costs, and companies must pay a federal fine if they do not.

The Texas bill, if it becomes law, could help wipe out the financial disincentive for some companies to not cover emergency contraception. The state tax break would be up to the total amount that companies pay in state taxes or the total amount of the federal fine, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

Obamacare's contraception mandate has faced a number of court challenges. A federal judge ruled in November that Hobby Lobby must cover employees' contraception costs after the company filed a lawsuit requesting an exemption, claiming that the contraception mandate violated their religious freedom. Federal judges have dismissed several several similar lawsuits. The Supreme Court declined to block the contraception mandate in December.

Some companies' opposition to the contraception mandate may hurt their bottom line. Hobby Lobby's vocal opposition to covering contraception has spurred a backlash, with a petition to boycott the company garnering more than 70,000 signatures.

Original Article
Source: huffington post
Author: Bonnie Kavoussi

No comments:

Post a Comment