Open enrollment for ObamaCare is right around the corner. With a November 15th start date, Americans deserve to know whether the plans they're considering on the insurance exchanges cover elective abortion and if so, how much they're paying for the abortion coverage, and how the abortion surcharge will be billed.
FRC wrote about this debacle in the past with regard to the exchanges and plans offered in D.C. and Maryland. We discovered that it was very difficult to obtain accurate information. Finding a pro-life plan should not be this daunting. Our investigation has revealed that insurance representatives on exchanges in various states have given information that is inaccurate and inconsistent. For example, in Colorado, representatives from ColoradoHealthOp have suggested that some of their plans cover elective abortions, while their online plan resources for those same plans clearly state that they do not cover elective abortion.
In another instance, two different representatives from Humana vouched that none of their plans cover elective abortion, but according to the plan details, they all do. Many states don't even provide plan information on their websites. Some representatives from Sharp Health Plan in California and Group Health in Washington, have told us that they could not answer questions since we were not members, but how is one to make a decision about becoming a member before knowing the plan details?
Even when plan details are written out, it is not often clear if the plans cover elective abortions. Written plan details such as "interruption of pregnancy," "pregnancy termination included," or "abortion services" do not specify if that's in reference to elective abortions. Such was the case with various companies in California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
When asked specifically the ObamaCare abortion surcharge, which requires a person who signs up for a plan that covers elective abortions to pay at least $12 per year, representatives either had no idea about it, told us about deductible costs, or one even referred us to Planned Parenthood to see how much they charge for an abortion. Finding accurate information has proven to be nearly impossible. Congress must pass Rep. Chris Smith's (R-N.J.) Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2013 to ensure that Americans get clear answers about abortion coverage when they purchase healthcare plans on the ObamaCare exchanges.
** You can read more about this in Arina Grossu's op-ed, which appeared on National Review Online.
