I keep hearing that the healthcare bill is going to fund abortions…then I hear from other people that it will not. I have yet to see any conclusive evidence for either side though. Can anyone quote me the part of the bill (or something authoritative) saying that it will fund abortions, and specify how much it will fund abortions and in what circumstances?
Let me try this on for size for you: it doesn’t say that it won’t fund abortion. Therefore it will.
I am citing from HR 4872, the “reconciliation bill” passed last night by the House.
Section 123 defines a Health Benefits Advisory Committee whose job it is to define recommendations for what are, exactly, the procedures that must be covered.
The membership of this committee will be 17 people appointed by the President and 9 people appointed by the Comptroller of the US (who is appointed by the President). They will consist of:
providers, employers, labor, health insurance issuers, experts in health care financing and delivery, experts in racial and ethnic disparities, experts in care for those with disabilities, representatives of relevant governmental agencies. and at least one practicing physician or other health professional and an expert on children’s health and shall represent a balance among various sectors of the health care system so that no single sector unduly influences the recommendations of such Committee. The membership of the Committee shall also include educated patients, consumer advocates, or both, who shall include persons who represent individuals affected by a specific disease or medical condition, are knowledgeable about the health care system, and have received training regarding health, medical, and scientific matters.
Do you see any of the above groups who will be pro-life? I don’t. Therefore, I would give it about a 99.9999999999% probability that abortion will be defined as an essential benefit.
(Sec 124) When this committee gives its recommendations, they present them to the Secretary of HHS who will either accept them as a package or will outline specific objections and send them back.
(Why is that important? Once abortion is approved by the initial batch appointed by Obama – and you’re fooling yourself if you think it won’t be – it will be almost impossible to have removed by a subsequent administration)
Let’s jump down now to Sec 201: the Health Insurance Exchange. In Sec 203, the Health Choices Commissioner determines if an employer’s plan meets the minimums defined in Sec 123/124. (i.e., if an employer’s plan doesn’t cover abortion, it will not be acceptable). If the employer’s plan does not meet the minimum standards, the employer will have to pay a 8% surtax (Sec 313) and his employees will go to the health benefits exchange (where their insurance costs will about double).
Here’s where the federal funding comes in (it’s real sneaky): In Section 243, Affordable Premium Credit. If you make less than 400% of the poverty rate (that’s $88,000 for a family of four), the government will pay part of your premium. So, instead of having to pay $14,000 per year for insurance, you may only need to pay $9,000. (Of course, if you had an employer-provided plan, you’d only be paying $4,000 or so a year). So if you are in a plan that offers abortion (and per the sections cited earlier, they all may well be required to do so), that “affordable premium credit” means that federal funds will go toward the abortions provided by that insurer. Read Section 243 really carefully.
So here’s the deal: having one insurance plan that doesn’t cover abortion means nothing. As long as there is one plan on that “health care exchange” that covers abortion, your tax dollars will pay for those abortions through the “affordable premium credit.”
OK?
(BTW, no Executive Order will change that, as EO’s can’t change the law. And the so-called Stupak compromise (i.e., the Hyde Amendment) wouldn’t change that. The only thing that would have changed it is if the legislation had included language stating that “no Exchange-participating insurer may cover abortion”. And that language was never proposed)
