In summary
In their proposed repeal of the Affordable Care Act, the House GOP plan now being touted by President Trump includes an anti-abortion provision at odds with California law. Their bill would not allow people to use their tax credit to buy a health plan that includes abortion coverage. But that’s is in direct conflict with California’s legal requirement that health plans provide abortion coverage.
In their proposed repeal of the Affordable Care Act, the House GOP plan now being touted by President Trump includes an anti-abortion provision at odds with California law.
At issue is a restriction on the tax credits House Republicans want to offer people who buy their own health insurance. Their bill—which cleared its first committee hurdle in the wee hours of this morning on a party-line vote—would not allow individuals to use their tax credit to buy any health plan that includes abortion coverage. But that’s is in direct conflict with California law, which requires health plans to provide abortion coverage.
“If federal law mandates this, it would likely lead to legal challenges because state law protects these services,” said Nancy Kincaid, spokeswoman for Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, who has openly criticized GOP efforts to repeal President Obama’s signature health care law.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Chuck Donovan, president of the Charlotte Lozier Institute, a think tank that opposes abortion, said the GOP plan would mean tax credits could not be used to purchase 98 percent of California’s current insurance offerings.