“Whether or not an insurance Exchange is established by the federal or state government, it receives taxpayer dollars, which should not be used to pay for abortions and life-ending drugs and devices,” said AUL Action’s Dr. Charmaine Yoest.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (06-25-15) – In King v. Burwell, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the federally run health insurance Exchanges in 36 states can receive taxpayer subsidies through the Affordable Care Act. For Americans United for Life and AUL Action, the problem is that the ‘Obamacare’ subsidies—taxpayer dollars—can be used by abortion-covering insurance plans. “Whether or not an insurance Exchange is established by the federal or state government, it receives taxpayer dollars, which should not be used to pay for abortions and life-ending drugs and devices,” said AUL Action President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest. “AUL Action calls on the U.S. Senate to address this problem by moving immediately to pass the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, S. 582, which would apply and make permanent the life-affirming principles of the Hyde Amendment to the Affordable Care Act.
In stark contrast to the longstanding federal policy of the Hyde Amendment, the Affordable Care Act has been upheld to allow federal taxpayer dollars to subsidize insurance plans that cover abortion. A report issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in September 2014 revealed that the problem is even worse: abortion-covering insurance plans are failing to even follow the Affordable Care Act’s separation of funds requirements and the Obama Administration is seemingly enabling this circumvention of the plain language of the Affordable Care Act.
The GAO report also confirmed the difficulty in identifying abortion-covering plans, demonstrating that 11 of the 18 health insurance issuers interviewed did not make abortion coverage information available online prior to enrollment. Americans who are inadvertently or through employment with a small business enrolled in insurance plans that cover abortion are required to pay an “abortion premium” that will be used exclusively to pay for abortions.
The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act would ensure that whether an Exchange is run by the federal or a state government, the Obamacare federal subsidies it receives—taxpayer dollars—are not subsidizing abortions. The Act would also protect Americans from Obamacare’s covert abortion premium. U.S. House of Representatives already passed the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act in January and is pending in the Senate Finance Committee as S. 582.
Since the day the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, AUL Action has been working at both the state and federal level to mitigate the abortion problems riddled throughout Obamacare.
Abortion is woven into the healthcare law at multiple levels, making repeal of the law a pro-life necessity, including:
- Failing to prohibit the use of federal tax dollars for abortion, abortion coverage, and abortion-inducing drugs and devices.
- Pretending that the Hyde Amendment protections were enough to prohibit direct payment for abortions.
- Permitting federally subsidized Qualified Health Plans (QHPs) to provide abortion coverage through the state insurance exchanges required in all 50 states.
- Failing to prohibit all multi-state qualified health plans from providing coverage for abortion.
- Including a “preventive care” mandate that is being used to force coverage of drugs and devices known to end life.
- Failing to provide comprehensive First Amendment conscience protections for individuals, employers, and insurance companies that have religious or moral objections to abortion.
To learn more about AUL’s Real Health Care Respects Life initiatives click here.
