The Family Research Council (FRC) and Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI), the research arm of Susan B. Anthony List, announced the results of their fifth annual comprehensive review of elective abortion coverage in Individual and Family health insurance plans offered on healthcare.gov and state-based exchanges under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"). Open enrollment began on November 1 and continues until December 15.
The groups' 2019 fact sheet with detailed information and an interactive map are available online at ObamacareAbortion.com. The web site was launched in 2014 as a resource to help consumers find pro-life health plans. Some of their key findings for the 2019 plan year include:
· Of all Individual and Family exchange plans in the 24 states and the District of Columbia that allow abortion coverage in exchange plans, an estimated 65 percent (650 plans) cover elective abortion -- up from 53 percent (527 plans) in 2018.
· In eight states and the District of Columbia, 100 percent of Individual and Family plans on the exchange cover elective abortion. There is no pro-life option in these jurisdictions.
· In an additional five states, between 50 and 99 percent of plans cover elective abortion.
· 26 states have passed laws to opt out of elective abortion coverage in plans offered on the state exchange.
· Two insurance companies on the Colorado exchange, Bright Health and Elevate by Denver Health Medical, now clearly state that elective abortion is not covered in their 2019 plans after CLI documented their failure to disclose whether abortion was covered as required by federal law and requested enforcement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
· In 2017, there were more than 200 Multi-State Plans (MSPs) nationwide; for 2019, only one state -- Arkansas -- offers MSPs. None of these plans cover elective abortion. Guaranteeing there would be at least one pro-life plan on the state exchanges was a stated goal of the Affordable Care Act -- that promise has now all but collapsed.
· In 2018, an estimated 2.2 million people in states that have not opted out of abortion coverage are receiving a total of $11.2 billion in premium tax credits for plans that cover elective abortion.
Click here for more from Christian Newswire.
