A new study by the RAND Corporation found that while simply removing the individual mandate from the Affordable Care Act would result in fewer individuals choosing to buy insurance, it would not produce the so-called premium death spiral predicted by some of the mandate’s strongest supporters.

The ranks of the uninsured continued to grow last year according to Gallup. Their poll found that 17.1 percent of adults did not have health insurance in 2011, which is a significant increase from the 16.4 percent in 2010. It’s part of a long run trend driven by higher costs leading to a decline in employer-provided insurance, and worsened by unemployment. One error in the ACA was that its expanded insurance coverage does not kick in until 2014.

While some are calling yesterday’s change of policy with regard to contraception coverage a win-win for both the Catholic church and the Obama administration, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops does not see this as a win. Instead, they see it as one small little step, and they are pressing for much, much more.

The first amendment’s protection of religious liberty is not a license for religious organizations or individuals to disregard any law or regulation they don’t like. If the White House wants to end this fight, that’s the argument they’re going to have to make to the public. Instead, they have allowed the USCCB to set the terms of the debate, and the USCCB is quite happy to continue doing so.

This isn’t over, folks. Not by a long shot.

This proposed insurance rule on birth control so strongly bothered Mitt Romney that he declared, “this is a violation of conscience. We must have a President who is willing to protect America’s first right, our right to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience.” By that absolute logic, he should also oppose rules against religious uses of marijuana, which is common, but that’s not his or the GOP’s position.

I didn’t think we had reached the point in America where providing free contraception would be seen as a risky political maneuver, but here we are. Last month, the Administration agreed to universal access to birth control as part of the Affordable Care Act. Insurance companies would need to provide coverage for contraception in both employer plans and on the insurance exchanges without a co-pay.

Stearns spokesman Paul Flusche denies it, but…

Komen CEO Nancy Brinker blinked, presumably after every PR agency in the world told her that she had screwed the pooch on national TV in HD and 5.1 Surround sound audio and everyone in America had DVR’d the act.

There’s actually a little more confusion than initially reported about Susan G. Komen’s actual commitment to restoring Planned Parenthood funds. They certainly wanted everyone to think that they were changing their policy. Upon closer inspection of their statement, however, they may be trying to take credit for a change in policy without actually doing so.

Susan G. Komen CEO Nancy Brinker (who loves that “Ambassador” title from her stint in the Bush Administration, Credibility!) poops out a string of B-School gibberish in order to keep the money flowing and keep her brand from sinking.

Komen for the Cure says that there’s nothing personal about cutting off funds to Planned Parenthood. It’s just business, you know, and since they’re under investigation, we can’t get caught up in that.

That’s funny, because I’ve been reading of investigations — and even admissions — of financial irregularities in several dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church. Given that Komen sends grant money to Catholic institutions like Georgetown University, it makes me wonder if GU will be losing their money next.

Unless GU and other Catholic institutions are losing their funds too, this “it’s just our policy” line is Komen blowing smoke, and that makes me sick.