GAO CONFIRMS: ABORTION IN OBAMACARE

GAO Report demonstrates that Obamacare taxpayer subsidies are going to insurance coverage that
includes abortion.despite claims to the contrary.

No matter where you live, your federal taxpayer dollars are subsidizing plans in other states that
include abortion. If the longstanding prohibition on abortion funding, known as the Hyde
amendment, had been applied to the ACA, there would be no taxpayer funding for plans that
include abortion.

The GAO identified 1036 Plans that cover abortion on demand.

In California, where an estimated 1.25 million people are receiving taxpayer subsidies
i
for
Obamacare plans, 86 out of 90 plans include abortion on demand.

95% to 100% plans in 8 states include abortion on demand.
Every plan in New Jersey, Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island and Hawaii
Massachusetts98% (109 out 111)
New York95% (405 out of 426)
California96% (86 out of 90)

According to the CBOs April 2014 estimates, between 2015 and 2024 ACA premium subsidies will
cost $855 billion. ($726 billion in direct spending and $129 billion in reductions in revenues.)
ii


EVEN THE ACCOUNTING GIMMICK IS IGNORED

GAO interviewed 18 insurance issuers. NONE had collected the abortion surcharge
payment separatelyeven though the author of this arrangement, Senator Ben Nelson
said: the insurance company must bill you separately, and you must pay separately
from your own personal fundsperhaps a credit card transaction, your separate personal
check, or automatic withdrawal from your bank account for that abortion coverage.
Now, let me say that again. You have to write two checks: one for the basic policy and one for the
additional coverage for abortion....
iii


Background: Instead of extending the Hyde amendment, Obamacare constructed an accounting
gimmick to get around the Hyde amendment. Proponents of the gimmick claimed that when a
consumer selects a plan that covers abortion, the abortions would be paid for using funds collected
from the plan purchaser through a separate abortion surcharge. This separate payment approach
was contemporaneously acknowledged by NARAL, Planned Parenthood and the Center for
Reproductive Rights.
iv


3X

The GAO found that the administration reinterpreted this billing arrangement. Instead of separate
payments, they told issuers they could simply itemize the abortion surcharge on the consumers
bill. NONE of the 18 issuers interviewed itemized an abortion surcharge. (One company stated bills
indicate there is a $1 fee for coverage of services for which member subsidies may not be used.
The rest were silent regarding the surcharge.)

LACK OF TRANSPARENCY ON ABORTION COVERAGE

THREE TIMES Former Secretary Sebelius was asked about abortion coverage
transparency in Congressional hearings, and each time she refused to supply the
answer.
v
It took a GAO investigation to get a straight answer.

The report confirms that the information about abortion coverage is not uniformly available to
consumers. When consumers are shopping for a plan there is no reliable consistent way to
determine whether abortion is covered. According to the GAO of the 18 issuers interviewed:
11 issuers indicated that consumers shopping for plans do not have access to such
information, and some of the 11 indicated consumers would need to call their issuer
directly to determine whether the plan includes abortion coverage
6 issuers indicated they made abortion coverage information available in some fashion
prior to enrollment
1 issuer did not respond to GAOs request for information

Consumers should not have to search multiple websites and make time consuming phone calls to
get this simple information.

The pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute and the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute agree there is a
lack of transparency.
vi


LESSONS FOR 2015

The information in this report only applies to 2014 plans. It does not answer questions for the
consumers that will shop in the 2015 Open Season.

For 2015, the administration needs to ensure that plans clearly and prominently disclose abortion
coverage, and that the abortion surcharge is prominently disclosed whenever the price of a plan is
advertised.

The Senate should pass and the President should sign H.R. 7, the No Taxpayer Funding for
Abortion Act
vii
(Rep. Chris Smith, R-NJ) which would stop taxpayer funding for abortion and plans
that include abortion in all federal programs including the Affordable Care Act. The House passed
H.R. 7 by a vote of 227-188
viii
on January 28, 2014.

i
http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/2014/MarketPlaceEnrollment/Apr2014/pdf/ca.pdf
ii
http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/45231-ACA_Estimates.pdf
iii
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2009-12-24/pdf/CREC-2009-12-24-pt1-PgS14134-2.pdf#page=1
iv
http://reproductiverights.org/sites/crr.civicactions.net/files/documents/pub_fac_funding_firewalls_3.10.pdf
http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/media/fact-sheets/abortion-health-care-nelson.pdf
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/21/AR2009122103224.html
v
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RovXCcrmPHA; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b4RH2WroHU;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWKa_fwyZSo
vi
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/gpr/17/1/gpr170115.html; http://www.lozierinstitute.org/elective-abortion-coverage-information-still-elusive/
vii
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-113hr7eh/pdf/BILLS-113hr7eh.pdf
viii
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2014/roll030.xml