Of particular concern, noted Doerflinger, is the fact that insurers will not be allowed to let people simply decline coverage of abortion and refuse to pay that part of the premium, even on the ground of religious or moral objections.
He added that the federal government prohibits insurers from giving enrollees a “specific warning about the fact that they are buying abortion coverage.”
It also forbids insurers from telling enrollees how much of their money is going towards other people’s abortions, thereby making it very difficult or even impossible to withhold this portion of the premium.
According to the federal regulation, notice of the abortion surcharge does not need to be mentioned in a plan’s advertising and must be disclosed “only as part of the summary of benefits and coverage explanation, at the time of enrollment.”
Although states may choose to “opt out” of covering abortion in their health care plans – and 15 states have already done so – they may still be required to pay for such coverage through the “multi-state plans” that are to be created under the health care law.
Details for these plans, which will be administered by the federal government’s Office of Personnel Management, have not yet been released.
However, concerns have been raised that if some of these plans are permitted to cover abortion, they can do so even in states within their multi-state region that have banned such coverage in their state exchanges.
“Pro-life Americans shouldn’t be forced to have their premiums used to pay for other people’s abortions,” said Mary Harned, staff counsel with Americans United for Life.
She explained to CNA that allowing insurance plans that cover abortions to be subsidized by the government is a “departure from existing laws” that is “really no different than directly paying for the abortions.”
She added that the lack of a conscientious exemption from the surcharge means that “there’s no real choice in this matter for the enrollee.”
Harned said that many people must use the insurance plan offered by their employers, so switching to a plan that does not cover abortion is not an option for them.
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Congressman Chris Smith (R-N.J.), co-chair of the congressional pro-life caucus, added that burying the abortion surcharge in the summary of benefits will mean that many Americans “could easily miss the fine print” while looking for insurance options.
“Once enrolled, even pro-life Americans will be forced to pay for other people’s abortions,” he warned in a March 15 statement.
Smith called the regulation “a mere bookkeeping exercise” that still requires Americans to be “complicit in abortion” against their will.
He emphasized that the current age of ultrasound imaging has allowed for a revolution in the true health care services that can be provided to children in the womb.
“Abortion isn’t health care,” he said.
Michelle La Rosa is deputy editor-in-chief of Catholic News Agency. She has worked for CNA since 2011. She studied political philosophy and journalism at the University of Dallas.