Baptist Press
Government report prompts calls for clarification of abortion coverage in Obamacare
By Scott Barkley
WASHINGTON (BP) — Pro-life lawmakers are urging the Trump administration to reissue a rule from 2019 clarifying federal funding of abortions following the release of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report yesterday.
The 2010 passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) included a compromise that states were given authority to prohibit abortion coverage in their marketplace if they chose to do so. To maintain compliance with the Hyde Amendment, enacted in 1976, the ACA established that federal premium tax credits cannot directly pay for abortion services except for those involving rape, incest or life endangerment.
The Separate Payment Rule, finalized in 2019, required insurers to collect separate payments between elective abortion coverage and the insurance premium, billing each member per month at least $1 for non-Hyde abortion coverage. The Biden administration repealed the rule in 2021, saying the system created a high burden on insurers, states, marketplaces and consumers.
According to yesterday’s report, 26 percent (1,719 out of 6,655) of 2026 qualified health plans (QHPs) under the Affordable Care Act covered non-excepted abortion services, those that are elective and not due to rape, incest or life endangerment.
“This report reaffirmed what we already knew to be true,” said Zack Pruitt, vice president and general counsel for the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. “Under the Affordable Care Act health plans, federal dollars fund elective abortions. Because there is no clear prohibition in the statute creating Obamacare, taxpayers have been implicated in funding abortions through their enrollment in these qualified health plans. This underscores the need to include pro-life protections as a core element of federal insurance programs – including any extension of Obamacare subsidies.
“We’re grateful for Sen. Lankford and other congressional leaders in requesting this report and agree that reinstatement of the Separate Payment Rule would be a way to swiftly remedy this negligence in the allocation of federal funding.”
Lankford (R-Okla.) joined other congressional leaders in requesting the study.
“As suspected, we now know that millions of Americans are forced each year to pay for elective abortion coverage that they do not want or agree with,” Lankford said.“The GAO findings confirm concerns we have raised for years about Obamacare and the Hyde Amendment. The accounting gimmick used in Obamacare does not protect Americans who have a moral objection to paying for the taking of a child’s life through elective abortion. As we approach 50 years of Hyde, this Administration should make sure its protections apply to Obamacare plans and restore the Separate Payment Rule so Americans know what their health plan covers.”
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) is among those who agree with Lankford.
“The GAO’s findings provide further evidence that Obamacare plans, as they have from the beginning, continue to violate the Hyde Amendment ban on the use of federal tax dollars to pay for abortion services,” Hyde-Smith said. “Pro-life taxpayers should know whether their hard-earned money is being funneled to abortion providers, and the White House should reinstate protections that help ensure that those of us who oppose abortion do not subsidize health exchange plans that provide abortion coverage.”