You da man, Mike! No dithering here. Obambi can learn some lessons.
Posted on 11/13/2009 3:07:02 PM PST by rabscuttle385
Republican Party chairman Michael Steele told Republican National Committee staff to immediately put an end to providing RNC employees with insurance for elective abortions. After learning of the abortion coverage from a news report, late Thursday evening Steele issued a statement:
"Money from our loyal donors should not be used for this purpose. I don't know why this policy existed in the past, but it will not exist under my administration. Consider this issue settled."
According to RNC spokeswoman Gail Gitcho, Steele then instructed staff to let their insurance carrier know that the RNC wished to opt out of the elective abortion coverage. Gitcho said the policy had been in effect since 1991.
(Excerpt) Read more at clevelandleader.com ...
Why was the RNC providing abortion coverage to its employees, and why did this policy go unnoticed for nearly 18 years???
I had no idea, but 18 years is about how long the RNC has been useless ;-)
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(The ELCA does it thru Aetna -- and it's aimed at pre-borns almost up to 20 weeks' gestation)
Go figure. Here we have official church bodies who apparently aren't exactly wild about biological church growth and want to slowly & literally kill off their members pew by pew. (I think the ELCA found a faster way to dump people from their pews via their convention this past summer)
I’m pleading the fifth. Good question.
Look, the abortion issue has come around over the years. It’s something like slavery, in that in the 70s when it became a hot button issue for us, I don’t think there was a snowball’s chance in hell it could have been defeated.
Today even people on the left are coming to realize abortion is incredibly wrong. The right has been hacking away at it for a long time. The anti-abortion groups deserve a lot of credit for moving the debate to the right.
We live in a new environment, where something will be done about it in a few years. I’ll be happy to see it come.
BECAUSE unless you ask your broker or insurance company specifically about it it never comes up.
I have neogtiated and signed contracts for employee group insurance for 30 years and I could not tell you of a single time a broker brought it up and asked if you wanted to opt out.
This is a non-story. GROW UP.
You da man, Mike! No dithering here. Obambi can learn some lessons.
I understand where you're coming from in terms of the GOP not practicing what they preach.
Focus, my friend. Right now, the enemy isn't at the RNC's health care plans - it's Obamacare.
You remember that Steele is the same schmuck who said back in the spring that pro-abortion politicians are welcome in the GOP. The Left is using abortion to split the Republican Party.
Also the RNC plans didn't cover abortion carte blache, there were still restrictions. Steele got hosed - again
A more interesting issue is this: Can an employer select a plan which excludes abortion as a covered medical procedure? I’m not so sure that option exists.
You tell me that not one single child was killed because of the GOP,s failure and it will be less of a story. Grow up indeed.
I hear what you’re saying and I will support most of the RNC platform. But if the Pro-life message is removed or muddied in 2012 I will have serious reservations.
Yes, YOU need to grow up. Odds are NOBODY KNEW this provision was in the coverage, just like probably 90% of employers coulnd’t tell you what was in theirs.
GROW UP.
Not in the field, but I know that previous employers have had their group plans modified, how much I don't know.
If the group is large enough, the insurer would probably figure out the actuarials for a custom policy.
I'd think that eliminating abortion (unless life saving) should lower the carriers risk factor.
Ten years ago or so, my wife landed a really good job with a local company. When we read the ins. policy it clearly spelled out that it covers abortions (elective included). And at the same time did not cover any kind of birth control.
The employer was fully aware. And she promptly found a new job. So from personal experience I call BS on your odds.
My first question is was it ever used for abortions.
I doubt anyone paid much attention to it.
Mike Steele made the right move when he found out. It’s a non story.
What hypocrites!
I would agree on the risk impact - I’m just thinking that the number of employees covered (unless the RNC is bigger than I think they are, bigger than they appear to be based on their effectiveness) is probably so small that writing a custom policy is not possible. Also - their employees are probably residents of DC and various states - and I can imagine either by statute or by state insurance regulation - (especially in states like NY or WI) that you may not be able to offer a plan that excludes abortion.
But this is so typical of Steele - he appears very inept in terms of PR. It’s like he took a page from the Bush Administration PR playbook - take a principled stand, absorb some heat for prolonged period, then cave in on the initial, principled position. That way you maximize the damage.
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