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Religious organizations that object to offering birth control coverage under the Affordable Care Act are now allowed to hand that responsibility off to a third party as part of new rules proposed Friday by the Obama administration.

Religiously affiliated organizations that choose to insure themselves would instruct their "third-party administrator" to provide coverage through separate individual health insurance policies so that they do not have to pay for services to which they morally object.

The so-called "contraception mandate," which went into effect on Aug. 1, 2012, requires most employers to cover birth control for their female employees at no additional cost. Religiously affiliated organizations are exempt from the rule, and religiously affiliated organizations that are not churches, such as schools and hospitals, are allowed to opt out of directly paying for contraception coverage. The cost of coverage, in those cases, would be shifted to the insurer.

"The [Obama] administration is committed to working with all employers to give them the flexibility and resources they need to implement the health care law in a way that both protects women's health and also makes common-sense accommodations for religious beliefs," Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, deputy director for policy and regulation at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight, said at a news conference.

There will be a 60-day comment period on this latest reworking of the mandate, part of the sweeping 2010 health-reform law known as the Affordable Care Act. The mandate is scheduled to go into effect for religious nonprofits in August.

"Today, the administration is taking the next step in providing women across the nation with coverage of recommended preventive care at no cost, while respecting religious concerns," said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. "We will continue to work with faith-based organizations, women's organizations, insurers and others to achieve these goals."