SENATE PANEL
OKs bill to block abortion on state health insurance exchange.
Legislation prohibiting coverage for abortions on the state’s health insurance exchange advanced Wednesday in a Senate panel.
Sen. Cecile Bledsoe, Republican chairman of the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee, presented House Bill 1100 to her panel. Rep. Butch Wilkins, a Jonesboro Democrat and the bill’s sponsor, had successfully guided his legislation through his chamber earlier this week.
“The exchange will be left without clear guidance without this bill,” Bledsoe said shortly before the 5-2 vote. Sen. David Burnett, an Osceola Democrat, voted present.
Two Democrats who voted against the legislation — Sens. Linda Chesterfield of Little Rock and Stephanie Flowers of Pine Bluff — said they had concerns about its constitutionality and the limitations on abortion rights for women, especially the poor.
“[Can you tell me] if this in essence eliminates the opportunity for women in Arkansas to have health coverage for an abortion?” Chesterfield asked the state Insurance Department’s chief counsel, Booth Rand.
“Yes, in the exchange,” Rand replied. The exchange will begin coverage in January 2014.
Opponents of the bill, including the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said federal law already prohibits federal subsidies to be used for abortions. A consumer seeking coverage on the exchange is eligible for a sliding scale of subsidy if they make between $11,170 and $44,680.
Women who want an abortion must pay their own money, exchange officials have said. Wilkins’ bill would allow women to purchase such coverage through a separate “rider.” Last week, Insurance Department officials said no such riders are currently offered and doubted that the private market would offer such a rider.
“Legislatures have no right to tell a woman what she can do with her own hard-earned money,” said Bettina Brownstein, a lawyer representing the ACLU.
Eighteen states, including Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Louisiana and Oklahoma, have enacted similar bans already, said Bledsoe of Rogers.
The federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which created the insurance exchanges, allows states to “opt out” of the abortion coverage, she said.
Rand said the legislation doesn’t contradict the healthcare law, but declined to comment on its constitutionality when asked by Flowers.
Rose Mims, executive director of anti-abortion group Arkansas Right to Life, said Arkansas is a “pro-life” state that should take advantage of the state option in the law.
HB1100 now proceeds to the Senate for a vote.