Fifteen states have passed laws that prohibit insurers from covering abortions in a health insurance policy. The state of Washington may be the first to pass a law that requires insurers who cover maternity care to also cover abortion. There is an exception for those who have a conscience-based objection to it.
If you have been keeping up with the news, you have probably heard the controversy surrounding the creation of laws that require women who are seeking an abortion to undergo an invasive vaginal ultrasound before they will be allowed to have an abortion preformed. The necessity of this law is being debated in the state of Virginia.
The state of Texas recently chose to cut all of the Medicaid funding that had been going to Planned Parenthood because some lawmakers feel that Planned Parenthood doesn’t do anything other than provide abortions. This incorrect assumption could result in Texas losing all of the funding for Medicaid that comes from the federal government.
The state of Kansas has a case that was filed by the ACLU that is in opposition to a law that prohibits all health insurance companies in Kansas from covering abortion. Women who want that form of coverage would have to purchase a separate insurance rider. The ACLU feels that this law discriminates against women. This case has been passed to a judge who is now the third judge to be assigned to the case.
Washington is doing something completely different. There is a measure called House Bill 2330. If it is passed into law, it would require all insurers who cover maternity care to also cover abortions. In Washington, all insurers are currently mandated to cover maternity on a standard health insurance plan. Therefore, all health insurers would become required to cover abortion as well. There is an exemption in this law for insurers who claim a conscience-based opposition to this form of insurance coverage.
Those in favor of this bill say that it is necessary because there is uncertainty of what will happen in regards to insurance coverage for abortion under the Affordable Care Act. They point out that Washington has, historically, been a state that is in the forefront for women’s reproductive rights. The want to ensure that nothing will change in the health insurance that is offered to the women of Washington after the ACA goes into affect.
Opponents of this bill say that expanded coverage will lead to more abortions, and they fear that it will increase the cost of health care for everyone. They also have concerned that this bill would result in discrimination against health insurance companies who choose not to cover abortion due to moral reasons.
Currently, and under the Affordable Care Act, there are laws that prohibit federal funding from being used to cover, or pay for, abortions. This could make it difficult for insurers to work around. They would have to collect two separate sets of premiums, in order to keep the funding from mixing. Some are fearful that this could lead insurers to decide to push to eliminate the requirement that they cover abortion in standard health insurance plans.
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