Liberty Headlines
Pro-Life Sens. Urge HHS Dept. to Undo Obamacare’s Abortion Mandate
By Kaylee McGhee
A group of Republican senators submitted a letter to the Trump administration this week, encouraging the adoption of an Obamacare rules clarification that would ensure pro-life consumers don’t have to subsidize abortions.
Led by pro-life Sen. Cindy Hyde–Smith, R-Miss., 14 senators wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to express their support for the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Exchange Program Integrity” amendment, also dubbed the Hyde Amendment.
The proposed HHS rule change would require businesses covered by the Affordable Care Act to obtain a separate policy to cover abortion services.
“The Obama Administration’s misinterpretation created a hidden abortion surcharge on many health care plans in exchanges throughout the nation,” the letter reads.
“The meaning of Section 1303 is straightforward and congressional intent is clear. We are concerned that the proposed rule’s analysis fails to adequately acknowledge the illegality of the prior regulation. We ask that the final rule directly addresses this concern.”
Obamacare previously has allowed insurance companies to avoid disclosing whether their plans cover elective abortions. But according to the Washington Examiner, 60 percent of Americans do not want their tax dollars used for abortion coverage.
“The Hyde Amendment protects federal health care dollars from funding elective abortions and insurance plans that include elective abortion. The ACA deviated from this long-standing precedent by creating its own funding stream making taxpayer dollars available to buy abortion-covering health insurance plans in ACA exchanges throughout the country,” the senators wrote.
The HHS’s new “Patient Protection” rule restores “important and long overdue protections,” the senators wrote.
“The Obama Administration’s misinterpretation created a hidden abortion surcharge on many health care plans in exchanges throughout the nation,” they wrote.
“We thank HHS for issuing new regulations that align with the clear meaning and congressional intent of Section 1303. Congress clearly required a distinct payment and the current regulations instead allow the abortion surcharge to be hidden within the broader premium.”