“The separate billing requirement fulfills Congress’ intent and reflects President Trump’s strong commitment to preventing taxpayer funding of abortion coverage,” he said. Abortion rights groups argued that it would create stigma around abortion and make it more difficult for women to get insurance coverage for abortion. A Kaiser Family Foundation analysis published in December 2018, when a draft rule was published, said it would probably result in some insurers deciding to eliminate abortion coverage. The total cost will not change under the new rule — that is, the abortion services coverage charges will not be an add-on but will simply be broken out from the total bill. The final HHS rule is published in the Federal Register, and HHS has published a fact sheet outlining some steps insurers should take to inform consumers about the legislation.

Source: Washington Post December 26, 2019 20:24 UTC