HIDING IN OBAMACARE - ABORTION

What's Hiding in Obamacare?

November 19, 2018 - FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL

Remember "we have to pass Obamacare to find out what's in it?" Well, in some cases, "you have to buy it to find out what's in it." And all too often, what's in it is abortion.

Under the last administration, the government did everything it could to keep consumers in the dark about their plans. They even got insurers involved, blocking companies from explaining the abortion surcharges up front. In other words, most Americans who were shopping for a plan on the exchange had to wait until they got their statement of benefits until they knew if the policy violated their beliefs. And even then, they might not even know how much the abortion surcharge was!

The good news is that pro-lifers have options. 

The bad news is that they didn't know what those options are -- until the last few years. That's when FRC and the Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) teamed up to turn the flood lights onto the Obamacare exchange with a special website that's dedicated to telling you what the Obama administration wouldn't: which state plans include abortion. 

Since 2014, ObamacareAbortion.com has helped users search through insurance carriers to find out which ones cover elective abortions and which don't. 

For Americans on the exchange, it's been a significant step forward for anyone who wants to fill in the blanks on their policy benefits before they commit to them.

Now that Obamacare's 2019 enrollment is open, FRC and CLI want to make sure that you have all the information you need. Together, we've updated the site to bring more transparency to the process, highlighting -- through interactive maps and fact sheets -- which plans cover abortion and which don't. 

And unfortunately, the news isn't exactly positive. If you're one of the unlucky people living in Alaska, California, D.C., Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, or Washington, there is no pro-life option. Every single exchange plan in these areas covers abortion on demand (which, if you're keeping track, is two more states than last year.)

But that doesn't mean taxpayers in other states are off the hook. A whopping 650 Obamacare state exchange plans cover elective abortion in 2019 -- a 23-percent jump over 2018! As far as taxpayer-funded abortion in general is concerned, the total amount of premium tax credits for plans that cover abortion climbed almost $3 billion – from $8.6 billion in 2017 to $11.2 billion in 2018. Hold on, you're probably thinking. Didn't 26 states opt out of abortion coverage in their exchange plans?

They did, but because two big states -- California and New York -- decided to offer only abortion-inclusive plans, the overall dollar amount subsidizing the procedure went up. 

Others of you might be wondering why taxpayers are picking up an even higher tab for abortion under a pro-life president. But frankly, there isn't much the White House can do. 

That's Congress's job. 

Ultimately, the only way to stop paying for abortion in Obamacare is to repeal and replace the law. 

And Republicans haven't managed to do that. Until they do, every taxpayer will be forced to fund abortion on demand -- even if their own state opts out. That's just the nature of the Obamacare tax credits.

All of this is just more incentive for Congress to pass the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion law. 

Until then, consumers at least have a right to shop for plans they can purchase in good conscience. 

The Trump administration has been a major partner in that effort, doing everything it can to create more transparency. 

Until Congress can overturn the law, the White House is at least working to give pro-lifers as much information as possible. Under this president, insurers have no choice but to come clean about the separate abortion surcharge. 

In fact, thanks to a new HHS regulation, companies are now required to bill people separately for the abortion coverage -- a major departure from the Obama years, when officials went to great lengths to hide the fact that it was even included.

"Abortion," FRC's Patrina Mosley points out, "is not healthcare and the majority of Americans have already said they do not want their hard-earned tax dollars subsidizing insurance coverage that includes the taking of unborn human life. We hope that this resource serves to inform them of their pro-life options and to remind the country of the great work still left before us in untangling Americans from the abortion business."

Check out the site today and make sure you're informed before you're insured!

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Tony Perkins' Washington Update is written with the aid of FRC senior writers.