The Health and Human Services (HHS) Department opened an investigation into whether Illinois violated federal law by discriminating against insurers that excluded or limited coverage for abortions. Illinois' Reproductive Health Act requires private insurers to cover abortion. It's unclear how the investigation will proceed under Biden's leadership, but it resembled a similar investigation HHS undertook that ultimately resulted in threatening to revoke Medicaid funding for California. In December, HHS announced long-awaited actions on two alleged civil rights violations, including one in which a nurse was allegedly forced to assist with an abortion. Becerra, meanwhile, has been tapped to lead HHS under Biden and has repeatedly opposed the Trump administration's agenda within OCR.

Source: Fox News January 27, 2021 02:03 UTC