The Obamacare health insurance exchanges are happy to enroll unborn children and use taxpayer funds to kill them in abortions — all while many Americans may not know they are funding the abortions.
As LifeNews has reported, many plan administrators don’t know which Obamacare plans enroll unborn children and pay to abort them. To correct the problem, Rep. Chris Smith has introduced the “Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act.”
This bill would reverse the secrecy clause in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and require that all plans on the exchanges disclose whether or not the plan includes abortion. If the plan includes abortion, the plan must also disclose the amount of the abortion surcharge.
Anyone who enrolls in a federally subsidized health care plan that covers elective abortions will pay a “abortion fee” of at least $1 per month into a fund to pay for abortion on demand (Section 1303(b)(2) of the ACA).
In addition, under the secrecy clause, plans that cover abortion are only allowed to disclose the abortion surcharge “as a part of the summary of benefits and coverage explanation, at the time of enrollment” and information about the plan on the exchange may only list the total amount of the combined payments without specifying the surcharge (Section 1303(b)(3) of the ACA).
Many families may choose a plan that covers abortion without realizing it or because that plan is the only one that covers the critical care that their family needs. The “Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act” amends the ACA to specify that plans must prominently disclose whether or not the plan includes abortion. In addition, if a plan includes abortion, the plan must disclose the amount of the abortion surcharge.
The following is a letter Congressman Smith has circulated to members of Congress:
CLICK LIKE IF YOU’RE PRO-LIFE!
Dear Colleague:
As the exchanges have gone “live” this month, it has become evident that it is nearly impossible for individuals seeking exchange plans to identify which, if any, plans on their state exchange exclude abortion. That is why I am introducing the “Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act” to require prominent, transparent disclosure of abortion coverage for each plan offered on an exchange.
This is vital information since the many plans that include elective abortion are required by law to impose a mandatory abortion surcharge of at least one dollar per month. Doubtlessly there are many Americans who would object to paying a surcharge into a fund to be used solely for the purpose of destroying innocent human lives.
Preliminary anecdotal evidence gathered by my staff has shown that this basic information is either completely unavailable or incredibly difficult to obtain.
· A representative with the “Health Insurance Marketplace Live Chat” said “You may have to wait until you pick a plan to see if they cover abortions.”
· A telephone representative with the D.C. Health Link said that persons wishing to learn whether or not abortion is covered should call each individual health insurance carrier directly.
· A representative with a carrier offering coverage on the Minnesota marketplace said that their company will include abortion in every plan, but there would be no separate charge for abortion. This statement is either false or means that the carrier will intends to violate of section 1303 of the ACA.
Researchers at the Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) found similar evidence of the utter lack of transparency regarding abortion coverage. (According to CLI Obamacare will lead to 71,000 to 111,500 more publically funded abortions per year.)
· Contacting CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield in Maryland, CLI was told that customer-service representatives “don’t get a full contract” to have on hand and the “part of the site [that would allow her to determine whether abortion was covered] is not working.”
· Contacting Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield in New York, CLI was told that “the policies are not available yet” and suggested that CLI call again in two weeks.
So far the only clear information we have identified about abortion coverage has revealed that Connecticut and Rhode Island do not have a single plan that excludes elective abortion.
The average person seeking coverage on a marketplace should not have to spend hours trying to obtain basic information about whether or not they will have to pay a surcharge for a procedure that dismembers and chemically poisons innocent unborn children. My legislation will end the uncertainty for purchasers and ensure transparency.
The “Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act” is supported by the National Right to Life Committee, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Susan B. Anthony List, the March for Life, Concerned Women for America, the Family Research Council and Americans United for Life.
To comprehensively address the numerous anti-life funding policies in Obamacare, we must enact H.R. 7, the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” to eliminate taxpayer-subsidized elective abortion coverage in these plans, but until then we should at least be able to agree on the need for transparency. To be an original cosponsor, please contact Allison Hines at [email protected] or 6-0064 no later than COB Wednesday October 9, 2013.
