As Republicans remain hostile to Obamacare — GOP lawmakers have already wasted $50 million on dozens of failed attempts to repeal the law, and House Republicans have even threatened to shut down the government in order to block health care reform’s implementation — they often complain that Obamacare will translate into soaring costs for the health care industry. It’s true that health insurance rates are rising, but data from Connecticut suggests it has nothing to do with Obamacare.

Filings from Connecticut’s two largest health insurers, which both applied for double-digit rate increases this year, show that the insurance companies are not driving up their prices because Obamacare is leading them to do so. Rather, the rate increases are due to increasingly expensive health costs that are unaffected by the implementation of the health care law:

But the overwhelming reason for the rate increase requests is rising medical costs, the filings by Anthem, Aetna and ConnectiCare say. The companies say this is mainly because providers are raising their prices and patients are getting more care.

“People are accessing more services and hospitals, doctors and labs are charging us more,” Aetna spokeswoman Susan Millerick said.

The costs associated with the Affordable Care Act account for only a tiny fraction of the requested increases — less than 1 percent. These amounts cover the costs of the preventative women’s care benefits and the changes in cost sharing, said Paul Lombardo, the actuary for the state Insurance Department who reviews the rate increase requests.

While health care spending did rise at double the rate of inflation in 2010, a report by the Health Care Cost Institute confirms Connecticut’s findings and concludes the rising prices are due to the health costs that crept up during the recession. In fact, Obamacare will help address this very issue. The health care reform law represents part of the solution — not the problem, as Republicans claim — as it seeks to help make health insurance more affordable by reforming payment models, reducing payments to hospitals, and prioritizing quality of care.

Wheaton College was the first prominent evangelical school to join the conservative Catholic crusade against the Obamacare provision that requires employer-based insurers to cover birth control without co-pays. Despite the fact that Wheaton’s student health plan already covered contraception before the health care reform became law, the conservative college claimed the birth control requirement violated their religious liberty.

However, Wheaton’s case against Obamacare is entirely without merit. Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle threw out Wheaton’s case, citing the college’s lack of sufficient evidence that it had actually suffered religious discrimination under Obamacare — especially since the health care reform does not fully go into effect until 2013. This marks the third religious lawsuit against Obamacare that has been dismissed on these grounds.

“Wheaton only tilts at windmills when it protests that it will not be satisfied with whatever amendments defendants ultimately make,” Huvelle wrote, pointing out that Obamacare already provides an exemption for religious institutions that object to covering birth control.

Ultimately, the growing number of conservative Catholic and evangelical universities filing suit against Obamacare are all tilting at these windmills. Just like Wheaton, many large Catholic institutions like Georgetown University provided contraception coverage before Obamacare required them to do so, and are only now concerned about the implications of being compelled to provide birth control to their students or employees. Furthermore, the religious institutions objecting to birth control are in an increasingly small minority, even among people of faith. The majority of Catholics are not actually morally opposed to contraception.

Our guest blogger is Jack Jenkins, researcher for the Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative at the Center for American Progress.

GOP Senate candidate Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) is banking on the support of Christian conservatives to help him weather his “legitimate rape” controversy, but it doesn’t look like the rest of America’s faithful are going to let him off that easy.

After refusing to bow out of the Missouri Senate race despite intense pressure from Democrats and Republicans alike, Akin has attempted to use the dispute as an opportunity to energize his longtime supporters — many of whom are anti-abortion Christian conservatives. His campaign launched a fundraising drive last week to “Help Todd Fight Back Against the Party Bosses”, and recently released an ad in which Akin apologized for his statements by saying, “I have a compassionate heart for the victims of sexual assault, and I pray for them.”

But while some conservative Christian groups and evangelical leaders like Mike Huckabee have come to Akin’s defense, dozens of Christian pastors, authors, and activists have published statements decrying Akin’s remarks. Here are just a few:

– Covenant Theological Seminary: Akin’s former seminary, which otherwise claims to be doggedly anti-choice, issued a press release rebuking Akin’s claims that a woman’s body can automatically prevent pregnancy in the event of a rape, noting “Covenant Theological Seminary has never taught, and in no way affirms, that the female body is capable of preventing pregnancy caused by rape.”

– Episcopal Women’s Caucus: The Episcopal Women’s Caucus expressed outrage at Akin’s comments in a press release last week, saying they were “appalled” by “the current political discourse regarding reproductive justice.”

– Rev. Harry Knox: The president and CEO of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice accused Akin of misunderstanding scripture, saying, “[Akin] apparently doesn’t realize that true [Biblical] justice requires that a woman who has been raped have every resource available to her as she rebuilds her life after trauma. One of those resources must be the option to end a pregnancy caused by her rapist.”

– Rev. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite: Thistlethwaite, former president of Chicago Theological Seminary and senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, wrote in the Washington Post that she was unsettled by Rep. Akin’s remarks and unimpressed with his attempts at apology, saying “Theologically and politically, saying ‘I’m sorry’ has become a form of ‘cheap grace’ in our American public life. And in the case of Akin, it seems very cheap indeed.”

– Rose Marie Berger: Catholic peace activist and poet Rose Marie Berger wondered how the son of a minister “could debase himself in such a way that he has no qualms about putting his political agenda ahead of the truth and well being of women” and asked “As Christians, don’t we hold ourselves to a higher standard?”

– Rev. Joanna Harader: Harader, a Mennonite pastor who otherwise touts an anti-abortion stance, questioned Rep. Akin’s claim to spiritual authority, adding she is “appalled that, in the midst of these discussions, those expressing the most disrespectful attitudes toward women tend to do so in the name of God.”

Akin might be getting the forgiveness he’s hoping for from conservative Christian groups, but other believers don’t seem ready to let America forget about his comments anytime soon.

Our guest blogger is Dr. Laura Davies, a psychiatrist with a private practice dealing with forensic cases.

Doctors for America is taking our message of health care on the road. On Sunday, we kicked off the tour outside the RNC near Tropicana field. Although the RNC delayed their convention by a day, we are out in full force. On our very first stop, we had people crossing the street to ask doctors for medical information. We had passersby stopping and applauding. On of the major papers showed up and spoke with 5 local physicians, getting hometown perspective. This bodes well for our exciting and challenging journey. We will be holding a March for Health Reform on Thursday.

We are on a 12-day, seven-city tour, taking more than 50 doctors and patients from 17 states into the community. On Sunday, we brought the “Patients over Politics” blue bus out into Tropical Storm Isaac and spoke about the facts on reform and stories of patient — right outside Tropicana field where the RNC was kicking off with a party. We discussed our organization of 15,000 doctors committed to health care reform and to providing better care for our patients.

At many points along the way, we are explaining the impact of the Affordable Care Act on our patients. We have collected over 5,000 signed declarations of support for this bus tour from Deans of Medical Schools, patients, and health care professionals. Some of the stories include a grandmother who is concerned that her granddaughter cannot get the care she needs after intestinal surgery because her daughter was laid off.

Even when off duty, the “doctors are in.” At dinner last night, a former federal judge and his wife were curious about the bus, and we explained the impact of various policies on them as new retirees, which, even as well-educated seniors, they had not known. On the road, people are curious about the big blue bus and inadvertently become more educated about health care.

Health policy is not the only thing on the agenda. We are also performing blood pressure screenings, educating students about “dorm health,” and discussing women’s health issues.

As physicians, we see the terrible consequences when people do not have access to primary care. We want to help prevent illness, not treat catastrophic diseases. By going to both Presidential Conventions, we are urging all of our elected officials to put patients over politics, implement the ACA, and continue to push health reform forward.