By Susan Crabtree-The Washington Times

Reacting to an election-year firestorm, the White House on Friday shifted course on its health care contraception mandate, announcing that religious employers will not have to cover free birth control for their employees and that the responsibility would instead fall to private insurers.

President Obama announced the compromise designed to accommodate religious organizations, led by the U.S. Catholic Church, infuriated by the new rule that would have required them to provide free contraception and other birth control services to employees at faith-based hospitals, schools and organizations.

“Today we’ve reached a decision on how to move forward,” Mr. Obama told reporters a White House news briefing. “Under the rule, women will still have access to free preventative care that includes contraception no matter where they work, so that core principle remains. But if a women’s employer is a charity, or a hospital that has a religious objection to providing contraceptive services as part of their health plan, the insurance company — not the hospital, not the charity — will be required to reach out to offer the woman contraception care free or charge without co-pays and without hassles.”

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which led the charge against the original rule, adopted a wait-and-see attitude Friday afternoon to the announcement while it studied the implications of Mr. Obama’s revised plan.

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