Is Denying Women Abortions The Price Of Bipartisanship?
Is Denying Women Abortions The Price Of Bipartisanship?
Republicans argue that greater government involvement in health care will lead to rationing of care and denial of coverage. A government run health care would place a bureaucrat between “you and your doctor,” Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, repeated at least four times during a recent interview on Fox News.
And according to some reports, Hatch is working hard to translate his criticism into reality. Hatch and his Republican colleagues on the Senate Finance Committee are pushing legislation that would require insurers operating within the new Exchange to to deny coverage for abortion services. From Raising Women’s Voices:
The Senate Finance Committee has been writing a health care reform bill and struggling to create legislation that will have bipartisan support. Chairman Max Baucus (pictured left) considered several compromises to win Republican support, so they can claim it is bipartisan legislation. One of these potential compromises comes in the form of an abortion exclusion, which would prevent abortion services from being covered by some or all insurance plans in the Health Insurance Exchange. We fear that members of the Senate Finance Committee are considering such a compromise.
Nineteen House members have also sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) stating that they will not vote for health care reform legislation “unless it explicitly excludes abortion funding from the scope of any government-defined or subsidized health insurance plan.” “Furthermore, we want to ensure that the Health Benefits Advisory Committee cannot recommend abortion services be included under covered benefits or as part of a benefits package,” the members wrote.
The available legislation from the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Senate Committee and the House’s Tri Committee leaves the coverage decisions — the design of the so-called essential benefit packages — to the Secretary of Health and Human Services or a committee of experts. The Chairman’s mark of the HELP bill sates that “the Secretary shall ensure that the scope of the essential health benefits under paragraph (1)(A) is equal to the scope of benefits provided under a typical employer plan, as determined by the Secretary.” The Tri Committee legislation establishes a “private-public advisory committee which shall be a panel of medical and experts to be known as the Health Benefits Advisory Committee to recommend covered benefits and an essential benefits package.”
Should it pass, the Senate Finance version would be the only bill that specifically prohibits — takes away, rations, if you will — a medical service. Approximately one in three American women will have an abortion by age 45 and private insurers typically cover the procedure. In 2002, The Guttmacher Institute found that 86.9 percent of “typical” employment-based health plans “routinely cover” surgical abortion and 86.5 percent “routinely cover” medical abortion. The language under consideration would take away this benefit from women receiving coverage through the Exchange, eliminating the service for millions of American women.
As Republicans often argue, Congress should leave benefits decisions to the medical professionals. After all, if denying abortion services to women is the price of bipartisanship, then perhaps winning those one or two Republican votes isn’t worth the price of jeopardizing women’s health and well-being. In fact, according to a new national opinion survey conducted for the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC), 71 percent of Americans overwhelmingly support requiring health plans in the Exchange to cover women’s reproductive health services. Even 78 percent of Republicans prefer an independent commission of citizens and medical professionals make decisions about what should be covered under reform rather than the President and Congress. Allowing an independent commission of medical professionals to make coverage decisions is the real face of bipartisanship.
9 Responses to “Is Denying Women Abortions The Price Of Bipartisanship?”
Register
RSSLogin
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog RollAbout Wonk RoomContact Us
Donate
Sounds more like they’re trying to give the legislation a ‘poison pill’ so fewer Democrats will vote for it.
July 6th, 2009 at 1:32 pmSen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) >>A government run health care would place a bureaucrat between “you and your doctor,”
Possibly. I don’t reall know.
I do know that my existing health plan places a private sector bureaucrat between me and my doctor, and that bureaucrat’s bonus and chances of promotion may well hinge on his or her decision in my case.
And I know that our existing health care system rations care – on the basis of wealth — or lack thereof.
July 6th, 2009 at 1:56 pmI believe that the Government should be kept out of our reproductive systems. You Repugs does the Rebel yell about too much Government in our lives, so… This is the US Government interferring in our lives.
To be honest there will be more women looking for backstreet abortionist, were they could bleed out or sterile. They could opt to go in into Canada for the Abortion, like the Irish, they go to England to get an abortion.
July 6th, 2009 at 1:59 pmFrankly, I have no difficulty imagining Obama and an overwhelming majority of Congressional Democrats (both houses) going along with this. They’re desperate about gaining bragging rights about achieving “health care reform,” and I don’t think most of them would really mind leaving out women or — well, wait and see who else might get shortchanged.
July 6th, 2009 at 2:15 pmIt makes sense to me if taxpayer money was being used. If I was against abortion, I wouldn’t want to pay for it anymore than I would someone’s liposuction. On the other hand, if there is no taxpayer dollars being used, then it is merely arbitrary regulation that should be avoided. Women should have the right to abortion, but those who are against it should have the right to not pay for it.
July 6th, 2009 at 8:02 pmAbsolutely unbelievable! Roe VS Wade make abortion perfectly legal yet the religious right will do everything that they can to strip away a womans right to choose. In some cases abortion isn’t just a “moral” choice but a choice between life or death for the woman which impacts other family members. All insurance, including any public health plan, should preserve the rights that we have such as the right to have an abortion and I strongly believe that abortion should be covered by those private and public insurance plans.
July 7th, 2009 at 8:43 amSetay (5), do you think that taxpayer money shouldn’t be used to occupy Iraq? I hope so … I’m a taxpayer and I’m against that. I’m a vegetarian and am against subsidies to the meat industry. I’m against the slow suicide of tobacco, so I guess you’d drop all taxpayer funding for the tobacco industry.
Our government funds a lot of programs that the majority of the taxpayers are against. Why suddenly use this as a litmus test when it involves such a personal, life-changing event as abortion? Birth control and abortion are essential to complete health care.
July 7th, 2009 at 11:06 amSounds like us girls and women can expect to wind up under the bus one more time….Our rights and well-being still don’t seem to count for much more than rhetoric from our “leaders” in DC.
July 7th, 2009 at 3:23 pmAMERICA’S NATIONAL HEALTHCARE EMERGENCY!
It’s official. America and the World are now in a GLOBAL PANDEMIC. A World EPIDEMIC with potential catastrophic consequences for ALL of the American people. The first PANDEMIC in 41 years. And WE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES will have to face this PANDEMIC with the 37th worst quality of healthcare in the developed World.
STAND READY AMERICA TO SEIZE CONTROL OF YOUR NATIONAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM.
We spend over twice as much of our GDP on healthcare as any other country in the World. And Individual American spend about ten times as much out of pocket on healthcare as any other people in the World. All because of GREED! And the PRIVATE FOR PROFIT healthcare system in America.
And while all this is going on, some members of congress seem mostly concern about how to protect the corporate PROFITS! of our GREED DRIVEN, PRIVATE FOR PROFIT NATIONAL DISGRACE. A PRIVATE FOR PROFIT DISGRACE that is in fact, totally valueless to the public health. And a detriment to national security, public safety, and the public health.
Progressive democrats the Tri-Caucus and others should stand firm in their demand for a robust public option for all Americans, with all of the minimum requirements progressive democrats demanded. If congress can not pass a robust public option with at least 51 votes and all robust minimum requirements, congress should immediately move to scrap healthcare reform and request that President Obama declare a state of NATIONAL HEALTHCARE EMERGENCY! Seizing and replacing all PRIVATE FOR PROFIT health insurance plans with the immediate implementation of National Healthcare for all Americans under the provisions of HR676 (A Single-payer National Healthcare Plan For All).
Coverage can begin immediately through our current medicare system. With immediate expansion through recruitment of displaced workers from the canceled private sector insurance industry. Funding can also begin immediately by substitution of payroll deductions for private insurance plans with payroll deductions for the national healthcare plan. This is what the vast majority of the American people want. And this is what all objective experts unanimously agree would be the best, and most cost effective for the American people and our economy.
In Mexico on average people who received medical care for A-H1N1 (Swine Flu) with in 3 days survived. People who did not receive medical care until 7 days or more died. This has been the same results in the US. But 50 million Americans don’t even have any healthcare coverage. And at least 200 million of you with insurance could not get in to see your private insurance plans doctors in 2 or 3 days, even if your life depended on it. WHICH IT DOES!
If President Obama has to declare a NATIONAL STATE OF EMERGENCY to rescue the American people from our healthcare crisis, he will need all the sustained support you can give him. STICK WITH HIM! He’s doing a brilliant job.
THIS IS THE BIG ONE!
THE BATTLE OF GOOD Vs EVIL!
Join the fight.
Contact congress and your representatives NOW! AND SPREAD THE WORD!
God Bless You
Jacksmith – WORKING CLASS
July 7th, 2009 at 9:03 pm