Drudge, CNS News falsely suggest Obama health care proposal would go beyond Hyde to fund abortions
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on February 24th, 2010 5:47 am by HL
Drudge, CNS News falsely suggest Obama health care proposal would go beyond Hyde to fund abortions
A February 22 CNS News article, to which the Drudge Report linked, claimed that “Obama’s ‘new’ health care plan would use tax dollars to pay for abortions,” falsely suggesting that President Obama’s plan, which adopts the Senate bill’s abortion language, exceeded the Hyde Amendment, which forbids the use of federal funds for abortions except in cases of life endangerment, rape, or incest.
Drudge, CNS claim Obama’s proposal “funds abortion”
From the Drudge Report:
From a February 22 CNS News article, titled, “Obama’s ‘New’ Health Care Plan Would Use Tax Dollars to Pay for Abortions“:
President Barack Obama unveiled his plan for health care reform on whitehouse.gov on Monday, but pro-life legislators and advocates said the “new” proposal mostly mirrors the Senate bill and, in particular, would allow for tax dollars to be used to fund health plans that cover abortion.
[…]
Johnson said Obama’s bill will not include the same prohibitions set forth in the Stupak amendment — named after Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) — which was part of the health care legislation passed earlier by the House of Representatives. Instead, Obama’s bill allows federal funds to subsidize abortions through the structuring of programs and insurance plans.
“If all of the President’s changes were made, the resulting legislation would allow direct federal funding of abortion-on-demand through community health centers, would institute federal subsidies for private health plans that cover abortion-on-demand, including some federally administered plans, and would authorize federal mandates that would require even non-subsidized private plans to cover elective abortion,” Douglas said.
FACT: Senate bill prohibits health insurers from using federal subsidies “for the purposes of paying for” abortion services restricted by Hyde
The Senate health care reform bill as passed states that if a “qualified health plan” offered under the health insurance exchange provides coverage of abortion services for which public funding is banned, “the issuer of the plan shall not use any amount attributable” to the subsidies created under the bill “for purposes of paying for such services.” From Section 1303(b)(2)A):
”(2) PROHIBITION ON THE USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.-
”(A) IN GENERAL.-If a qualified health plan provides coverage of services described in paragraph (1)(B)(i), the issuer of the plan shall not use any amount attributable to any of the following for purposes of paying for such services:
”(i) The credit under section 36B of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (and the amount (if any) of the advance payment of the credit under section 1412 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act).
”(ii) Any cost-sharing reduction under section 1402 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (and the amount (if any) of the advance payment of the reduction under section 1412 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act).
FACT: Senate bill establishes a separate premium to segregate funds used to pay for abortions from federal funds
The Senate bill as passed further requires issuers to “collect from each enrollee” in plans that cover abortions “separate payment” for “an amount equal to the actuarial value of the coverage of” abortion services. This value must be at least $1 per enrollee, per month. All such funds are deposited into a separate account used by the issuer to pay for abortion services; federal funds and the remaining premium payments are used to pay for all other services.
FACT: Current law allows coverage for abortions restricted by Hyde under Medicaid through similar fund segregation
Seventeen states use state funds to cover abortions for Medicaid recipients in circumstances beyond Hyde. According to a November 1, 2009, study by the Guttmacher Institute, 17 states provide coverage under Medicaid for “all or most medically necessary abortions,” not just abortions in cases of life endangerment, rape, and incest. Those states “us[e] their own funds” — not federal funds — “to pay” for the procedures. Therefore, in 17 states, Medicaid, a federally subsidized health care program, covers abortions in circumstances in which federal money is prohibited from being spent on abortion.
