Abortion Coverage, Private Insurance Plans, and the American Health Care Act

The American Health Care Act passed by House Republicans in May would go further than existing law to restrict the availability of abortion coverage through private insurance policies. It would ban abortion coverage in all marketplace plans as well as prohibit the use of federal tax credits to purchase any plans that cover abortion that are available outside the marketplace. This policy could block the ability of California and New York residents to use federal tax credits to offset premium costs because these two states have laws that require all private plans they regulate to include abortion coverage.

A new issue brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation reviews current federal and state policies on private insurance coverage of abortion services and the potential conflict between the AHCA provision and state laws regulating private insurance.