Abortion & Health Insurance Coverage

One of the controversies related to abortion is whether health insurers, both public and private, should be allowed to cover the procedure. During the debate leading up to the passage of the 2010 U.S. health care bill, a main point of contention was whether the bill would publicly fund abortions. While some insurers do cover abortions, many do not.

History

• Since 1945, with the passage of the McCarran-Ferguson Act, states have been authorized to pass laws regulating insurance providers. After the decriminalization of abortion in 1973, this extended to the ability to restrict the provision of abortion by private insurers. In 1976, U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde spearheaded the passage of a bill that limited federal funding for abortions. Known as the Hyde Amendment, the bill has been modified several times since passage and, as of 2010, allows federal Medicaid funding for abortion only in cases of rape, incest, and the endangerment of the mother's life.

Significance

• According to the NARAL Pro-Choice America, a pro-choice political organization, the cost of an abortion can range from between $300 and $1,000, depending on what term the procedure is performed. Because of its expense, abortion is generally less available to low-income women than to women who can more easily afford the procedure. The discrepancy is further exacerbated by the Hyde Amendment, which restricts the funding of abortion under Medicaid, most of whose recipients are low-income.

Features

• According to NARAL, 17 states have laws that restrict ability of public and private employees to cover abortions. In addition, federal employees are not allowed to select a health-care plan that covers abortions. Also, military personnel, both current and retired, and their dependents cannot receive coverage for abortions through military health plans, even in cases of rape and incest.

Considerations

• Health insurance companies must consider several economic factors in deciding whether to cover abortions. The fact that many government employees cannot purchase plans that cover abortion provides companies an incentive to exclude the procedure from coverage. However, the cost of an abortion is generally cheaper than the medical services provided to a woman over the course of a full-term pregnancy, which provides companies an incentive to cover the procedure.

Misconceptions

• According to Mother Jones Magazine, the passage of the 2010 U.S. health care bill caused some confusion about whether states are allowed to restrict insurance coverage of abortion. While the bill explicitly allows states to ban private insurers from covering abortion, states have held this right for decades. As of 2010, five states--Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, North Dakota, and Oklahoma--have already passed laws that bar private insurers from covering abortion. Each of these states allows the coverage of abortions when the mother's life is in danger, while Oklahoma also allows insurers to cover abortions in cases of rape and incest.