Last month, a report from the Government Accountability Office found that in five states, consumers didn’t have the option of plans that did not cover abortions, and in many states they couldn’t determine which plans covered abortions.
On Thursday, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell couldn’t yet say whether the issue would be rectified when Americans choose their plans for 2015.
“First, I think it’s important to reflect that with regard to the federal law and the issue of federal funds, there are no federal funds being used for abortion except in the cases, as the law states, rape, incest, and questions of the life of the mother,” Burwell said at a media breakfast sponsored by the journal Health Affairs and hosted at the offices of the Kaiser Family Foundation. “And I think that’s an important part in this context. With regard to the issue that’s been raised, it’s one where we believe we need to make sure that the law is being enforced. And right now CMS is working on the ways that we’re going to communicate clearly for those states and insurers so that there’s clarity about what the law is in this space.”
When moderator Julie Rovner followed up to ask if the issue would be straightened out for the next open enrollment period, which is scheduled to begin on Nov. 15, Burwell said: “With regard to the question of this open enrollment, working through the plans that are in place, for the most part, we’re finalizing those plans. So in terms of how the communication is going to work, we’ll have to see how quickly we can get the communication out and where we are. Because I think the GAO report was actually based on previous year’s plans, not this year’s plans.”
The subject of funding for abortion was a major fight during the legislative battle to pass Obamacare, and the bill was only able to pass after the Obama administration provided assurances to pro-life Democrats that there would be no federal funding of abortion.
