Associated Press: Republicans Block "Free Contraception"

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Earlier today the US Senate voted down a motion to invoke cloture on legislation seeking to overturn a Supreme Court ruling which held that closely-held companies cannot be forced, under Obamacare, to pay for contraception benefits for their employees if they find the contraception to be immoral and a violation of their religious conscience (for the record, ND Senator John Hoeven voted against cloture while Senator Heidi Heitkamp voted for it).

Here’s how the Associated Press reported the news:

This is certainly in keeping with the Democrat talking points on the issue. They’d have us believe that employers allowed to choose what sorts of coverage they will and will not provide is somehow tantamount to denying access.

Because you can’t buy birth control unless it’s covered as a part of your insurance policy, I guess?

The idea that birth control is free, whoever is providing it, is even more ridiculous. The dirty secret of employer-based health care coverage is that it’s really employees who pay for it. For a business, the cost of hiring an employee includes more than just the salary or wages. It includes the employment taxes, the human resources overhead and the other forms of compensation like leave time, retirement plans, and health benefits.

The truth is that wages would be a lot higher in America if employers weren’t being treated as a defacto health insurance distributors as well.

Put simply, there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.

But “Republican meanies vote against free contraception” gets more traction with America’s distracted, confused electorate.