December 4, 2019
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, Family Research Council (FRC) and the Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) announced the results of their sixth annual review of elective abortion coverage in individual health insurance plans offered on state exchanges under Obamacare. Since open enrollment began on November 1, FRC and CLI research staff have diligently examined healthcare.gov and state-based exchanges for information on abortion coverage in health insurance plans.
The groups' fact sheet for 2020 is available online at Obamacareabortion.com, along with an interactive map. Some of their key findings for 2020 include:
- In eight states and the District of Columbia, 100 percent of individual plans on the exchange cover elective abortion. Illinois and Maine were added to the list since 2019 because of new state mandates that require all health insurance plans to cover elective abortion. Massachusetts and Washington were removed from the list because they added health insurance plans that do not cover abortion. The other states with abortion-only plans are Alaska, California, Hawaii, Maryland, New York, and Vermont.
- 26 states do not allow elective abortion coverage in plans offered on the state exchange. This number has not changed since last year.
- Of all individual exchange plans in the 24 states and the District of Columbia that allow abortion coverage, an estimated 777 plans cover elective abortion for the 2020 enrollment period. The percentage of total plans covering elective abortion rose 6 percent over this period from 65 percent of plans (650) in 2019 to 69 percent (777) of plans in 2020. Over this period, the total number of plans increased modestly from 1,000 to 1,120.
Family Research Council Director of Life, Culture, and Women's Advocacy Patrina Mosley commented:
"Obamacare allows health insurance plans purchased with federal subsidies to cover elective abortion. This violates the principle of the longstanding Hyde Amendment that taxpayer dollars should not be entangled with the abortion industry. Many individuals seeking enrollment remain categorically opposed to elective abortion and do not want their tax dollars used for its coverage. As the current administration has taken a strong stance in proclaiming that abortion is not family planning through the strengthening of Title X regulations and expanding the Mexico City policy, Congress still has a lot of work to do to make sure abortion is never considered healthcare."
For more information, read the factsheet or visit the website, Obamacareabortion.com.