GRAND RAPIDS -- The birth control compromise announced today by President Barack Obama drew praise from leaders of Saint Mary’s Health Care and the local Planned Parenthood chapter.

However, the bishop of the Catholic diocese of Grand Rapids said he will “reserve judgment until further details are available.”

“At the same time I recognize this accommodation as a first step in reopening the conversation on the important matter of freedom of religion,” said the Most Reverend Walter A. Hurley, bishop of Grand Rapids.

Obama’s announcement today came after weeks of controversy over a requirement that religiously affiliated employers provide free birth control coverage for employees. Churches were exempt, but schools, agencies and hospitals with church ties were not.

The rule change puts the onus on insurers to pay for contraception in such cases. If a woman works for a religious employer that objects to providing contraceptive services, her insurance company will be required to offer birth control at no charge.

Obama said the rule change would not be costly for the insurers, because covering contraception keeps women healthy and prevents spending on other health services.

“We are pleased and grateful that the religious liberty and conscience protection needs of so many ministries that serve our country were appreciated enough that an early resolution of this issue was accomplished,” said Phil McCorkle, the president and CEO of Saint Mary’s Health Care, in a statement issued this afternoon. “The unity of Catholic organizations in addressing this concern was a sign of its importance.

"Saint Mary's Health Care, Trinity Health and the Catholic Health Association are very pleased with the White House announcement that a resolution has been reached that protects the religious liberty and conscience rights of Catholic institutions. The framework developed has responded to the issues we identified that needed to be fixed.”

Trinity Health is the parent company of Saint Mary’s, and the Catholic Health Association is a national organization that promotes Catholic health ministries.

“We remain committed to working with the administration and others to fully implement the Affordable Care Act to extend comprehensive and quality health care to many who suffer today from the lack of it," McCorkle added.

Planned Parenthood officials said they were glad the revamping of the rule did not affect women’s access to birth control.

“We’re thrilled that the Obama administration reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring all women have access to birth control coverage, with no costly copays, no matter where they work,” said Katherine Humphrey, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of West and Northern Michigan.

Hurley said a broader religious exemption was needed than the one announced by Obama.

“Shifting responsibility from the employer to the insurance company does little to resolve the situation,” he said. “The Catholic bishops of the United States continue to be willing to dialogue to insure that rights of conscience and freedom of religion are maintained.”

The U.S. Conference of Bishops withheld its endorsement, saying it was too early to say if Obama’s policy changed had met core concerns of the Catholic church.

Kent County Commissioner Michael Wawee Jr., R-Walker, said the change in policy was an improvement, but he questioned why it was needed in the first place.

“This never should have been mandated to begin with,” he said. “I think this is an overstep of the White House, going into the area of separation of church and state and religious freedoms.”