CENTENNIAL, CO — Mitt Romney injected himself into a battle between religious groups and the Obama administration on Monday night, calling a new requirement that health care plans include coverage for contraception a “violation of conscience.”

Before one of the largest crowds of his campaign, Romney decried the new rule, which requires religious institutions like hospitals, universities and charities to provide coverage for contraceptive services as part of their health care plans, regardless of the particular group’s teachings on contraception.

While churches are exempt from the new requirement, it has quickly become a lightning rod issue for social conservatives, with the Catholic Church leading the charge against it.

Washington (CNN) — The Obama administration Friday filed papers with the U.S. Supreme Court outlining its arguments in favor of the minimum coverage provision of the Affordable Care Act — the latest move in a high-stakes legal battle playing out in the heat of the presidential campaigns.

Justice Department lawyers essentially mirrored their arguments from cases in appeals courts.

The government insists officials have the power to require minimum health care coverage, and that individuals who do not carry it will owe the government a penalty, which the Justice Department calls a tax.

WASHINGTON — In a major surprise on the politically charged new health care law, the Obama administration said Friday that it would not define a single uniform set of “essential health benefits” that must be provided by insurers for tens of millions of Americans. Instead, it will allow each state to specify the benefits within broad categories.

 The move would allow significant variations in benefits from state to
state, much like the current differences in state Medicaid programs and
the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

WASHINGTON — The government’s promise of lifetime health care for the military’s men and women is suddenly a little less sacrosanct as Congress looks to slash trillion-dollar-plus deficits.

Republicans and Democrats alike are signaling a willingness — unheard of at the height of two post-Sept. 11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — to make military retirees pay more for coverage. It’s a reflection of Washington’s newfound embrace of fiscal austerity and the Pentagon’s push to cut health care costs that have skyrocketed from $19 billion in 2001 to $53 billion.

The numbers are daunting for a military focused on building and arming an all-volunteer force for war

WASHINGTON — With the highest percentage of uninsured residents, Texas would be one of the biggest beneficiaries of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.

But Gov. Rick Perry blocked moves to lay the groundwork for expanded coverage. And among the alternatives he’s supported is an untested regional solution that could put states in charge of Medicare, an approach potentially as controversial as Obama’s.

With Perry running for the Republican presidential nomination, health care in Texas and his own ideas as governor will get fly-speck scrutiny on the national stage.

WASHINGTON — A federal appeals panel struck down the centerpiece of President Barack Obama’s sweeping health care overhaul Friday, moving the argument over whether Americans can be required to buy health insurance a step closer to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The divided three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals concluded Congress overstepped its authority when lawmakers passed the so-called individual mandate, the first such decision by a federal appeals court. It’s a stinging blow to Obama’s signature legislative achievement, as most experts agree the requirement that Americans carry health insurance — or face tax penalties — is the foundation for other parts of the law.

The “Gang of Six” proposal unveiled Tuesday was meant, in part, to convince the bond markets and the ratings agencies such Standard & Poor’s that a majority in Congress will do what’s needed to rein in spending, raise more revenue, and, thus, cut budget deficits.

President Barack Obama embraced the proposal, calling it “a very significant step” because a bipartisan group of senators had declared, among other things, that “we’ve got to be serious about tackling health care spending and entitlements in a serious way.”

Rep. Paul Ryan directly confronted President Barack Obama over Democratic ridicule of Ryan’s controversial Medicare overhaul plan – while other GOP leaders accused the president for “demagoguery” during a chilly bipartisan White House meeting.

Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican who chairs the House Budget Committee, pressed the president to stop describing his 2012 budget plan, which would replace the government-run system for senior health care with a privately administered program as a “voucher,” according to several Republicans in attendance.

Washington (CNN) — Top Republicans tiptoed their way around the Medicare question Sunday, playing to their conservative base by backing a controversial overhaul proposal while acknowledging they will have to negotiate the issue with Democrats.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, both told Sunday talk shows that all issues are on the table in deficit reduction talks led by Vice President Joe Biden intended to reach a deal on raising the federal debt limit.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Top congressional Republicans said on Sunday they would be open to a compromise on healthcare costs, one of the biggest stumbling blocks in a deal to get the United States’ debt under control.

Representative Paul Ryan, the chairman of the House of Representatives Budget Committee, said he would “absolutely” be willing to negotiate with Democrats, who have hammered his plan to scale back government-run health plans for the poor and the elderly.

With Ryan’s plan headed for likely defeat in the Democratic-controlled Senate, that chamber’s top Republican said it was time for “an adult conversation” on ways to keep healthcare costs under control.