A government report surfaced Wednesday, confirming that the new health care law does not restrict abortions in the Pre-existing Condition Insurance (high-risk) Plans – despite the Obama administration’s many claims to the contrary.
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) – the nonpartisan, official government agency that provides research and analysis –released its report last week, reigniting concerns that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was intent on sending taxpayer funds to states to fund abortions.
The report was conducted at the request of Sen. John Enzi of Nevada – ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee – and Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma – a practicing obstetrician.
Enzi and Coburn, along with 11 other senators, immediately sent a letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, stating that the report, “confirms our concern that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) lacks any restrictions prohibiting states from using federal funding to pay for abortions in the newly-created Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plans.”
The senators then laid down the gauntlet and instructed the secretary to act immediately:
“The CRS report suggests that the Secretary of Health and Human Services has the authority to issue regulations prohibiting federally funded high-risk pool plans from covering elective abortions.
“We urge you to act immediately to prohibit all states operating Preexisting Condition Insurance Plans from covering elective abortions. Absent such contractual requirements, it will be necessary for Congress to modify the current law to include restrictions to prevent federal dollars from being used to provide such coverage. We request that you identify the specific actions and timeline you will take to address these concerns by July 30, 2010.”
Bipartisan legislation was introduced in the U.S. House today by Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Ill. The No Taxpayer Funding of Abortion Act would permanently prohibit the use of taxpayer funding of abortion by any governmental agency.
“The overwhelming majority of Americans are opposed to taxpayer-funded abortion, and the ‘No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act’ will comprehensively end this practice,” said Charmaine Yoest, president and CEO of Americans United for Life Action. “Congress can act now and fix this problem once and for all, and we are urging our grassroots activists across the nation to contact their representatives and support this sensible legislation.”
With just one day to spare before the senators’ deadline, HHS today issued a regulation that appears to prohibit the use of taxpayer funding of abortion:
“The (high-risk pool) program,” the regulation states, “is federally-created, funded, and administered (whether directly or through contract); it is a temporary federal insurance program, in which the risk is borne by the federal government up to a fixed appropriation. As such, the services covered by the PCIP [Pre-existing Condition Insurance Plan] program shall not include abortion services except in the case of rape or incest, or where the life of the woman would be endangered.”
The regulation is an “interim final rule” that opens a 60-day comment period.
“The HHS regulations are insufficient to ensure that our tax dollars are not used to fund abortions in the long run,” said Carrie Gordon Earll, senior bioethics analyst for CitizenLink. “An administrative regulation like this can be reversed tomorrow. Even the White House admits that the regulation only impacts these temporary high-risk programs, making the new regulation temporary, too. That gives abortion proponents plenty of wiggle room in the future.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Read the letter from Sens. Enzi and Coburn to HHS Sec. Sebelius.
Read, “Republicans demand HHS issue regulations restricting abortion coverage in high-risk pools.”
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