WASHINGTON, D.C., April 17, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) — Throughout 2013, pro-life Republicans pushed for more transparency on abortion coverage in the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Now, they are being joined by the Guttmacher Institute and Think Progress in the push for clarity on insurance plans that cover abortion.
In multiple congressional hearings, House Republicans pressed former HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on what ACA plans would cover abortion. Sebelius promised to provide the information, but never did, leading Live Action Communications Director Drew Belsky to compare Sebelius to “a boyfriend who's cheating on you.”
Republicans were concerned that pro-life Americans would be unable to know if a plan they paid for would cover abortions.
Now the pro-abortion research organization Guttmacher Institute is saying the administration has been unable to provide transparency for those who want abortion coverage. NPR reports part of the problem is that insurance companies are following a “template” for coverage, not examining each plan in a robust fashion.
Guttmacher's report went further however. NPR says that Guttmacher noted that in 12 states that were examined, only four made obvious coverage for abortion services. Six offered at least one plan that did not cover abortion.
The report led one of its authors to say this was insufficient, and that “abortion should be considered basic health care, and consumers should know whether it's covered or not.”
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Chuck Donovan, president of the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute, was also quoted by NPR as saying his organization is “hearing complaints about” the coverage's lack of transparency. The Lozier Institute is part of the pro-life SBA List.
According to Illinois Republican Rep. John Shimkus, who has been a regular critic of Sebelius and the lack of abortion transparency in the ACA, “the administration remains unwilling to make that information easily accessible to the American people.”
“Since October 2013 I’ve repeatedly and publically asked Secretary Sebelius to provide a list of Obamacare plans that cover abortions,” Shinkus told LifeSiteNews. No matter whether you’re pro-life or pro-abortion, this is basic information that everyone deserves to have while shopping for plans on the exchange.”
A blog post published by Think Progress, which is part of the pro-abortion Center for American Progress, blamed transparency problems on “the lack of national standards.” The post also criticized 34 states for “[imposing] some kind of limits on which insurance plans are allowed to cover abortion care,” and claims that some of the difficulties of ACA coverage for abortions is due to state flexibility on abortion policy within the ACA.
Longtime pro-life Rep. Chris Smith, R-NJ, told LifeSiteNews that “we need transparency immediately.”
“Many Americans object to the destruction of human life and would be appalled to know they are purchasing a plan that includes such a brutal procedure, and that an abortion surcharge will be embedded in the premium they pay each month.” The Congressman said legislation he has introduced, known as the “Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act,” or H.R. 3279, “would remedy this appalling lack of transparency.”