Fearing an election-year backlash, President Obama on Friday retreated from a three-week-old policy mandating that all employers, including those with religious affiliations, offer free birth control under their employee health plans, senior administration officials said.

Obama will require insurance companies to cover the costs of birth control for employees of religiously affiliated organizations, including hospitals and schools, officials said. The new mandate represents a shift from the policy that Obama announced Jan. 20.