As of January 1, Medicaid in Delaware will be required to cover abortion and related “health care,” and most private health insurance plans and state-employee plans will cover abortions. This was part of just one of several pro-abortion initiatives successfully passed this year in Delaware’s Democrat-majority General Assembly.
In September, Gov. John Carney (D) signed House Bill 110 into law, making Delaware the fifth state to require private insurers to cover abortion. It also became the 18th state that requires Medicaid to do so. The measure was introduced by House Majority Leader Melissa Minor-Brown (D) and faced opposition from the Republican side of the aisle.
"I think that it is unfair to force taxpayers who are opposed to this procedure to have to pay for that procedure," Rep. Charles Postles (R) said during debate on the house floor. State GOP lawmakers contended that this requirement would add to Delaware’s already massive healthcare spending.
However, Minor-Brown claimed that women denied abortion suffer economic and financial consequences, including increased living expenses and increased debt.
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The legislation caps the amount the state will pay at $750 for abortions and bans most insurers, including those covering state employees, from charging copays, adding cost-sharing requirements, or applying deductibles for abortion.
The bill appears on the surface to allow for religious exemption, its text stating, “A religious employer may obtain an exclusion from the carrier if the requirements conflict with the organization’s bona fide religious beliefs and practices.” However, it adds that religious employers are required “to cover (abortion) services when the life or health of the covered individual is at risk.”
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In addition to expanded abortion access, measures introduced in Delaware this year would require public-funded university student health centers to provide abortion and contraception services on-site, and insurers to cover over-the-counter non-emergency contraception.
Carney also signed a law requiring pregnancy centers to disclose on signage whether or not they are licensed medical facilities.
During deliberations on the bill, Sen. Kyle Evans Gay (D) perpetuated a false narrative about pregnancy help organizations, claiming, “71% of these types of crisis pregnancy centers use deceptive means to spread debunked information,” and, he said “38% do not clearly state on their web page that they don’t provide abortion care."
Republicans, however, said that a court challenge awaits the measure as a possible violation of constitutionally protected free speech.
According to Minor-Brown, 24% of Planned Parenthood Delaware’s patients during the last fiscal year were on Medicaid, while 35% had private insurance. Over 40% of women accessing Planned Parenthood used the abortion provider’s self-pay system because they were underinsured or uninsured. According to Planned Parenthood, half of them reportedly had incomes 250% of the Federal Poverty Level and thus may have qualified for Medicaid.
Abortion providers are looking for funding sources. For example, Planned Parenthood of New England is projecting a $8.6 million deficit. Funds providing grants for abortion in Arizona, Florida, Ohio, and Chicago, Ill., are facing shortfalls.
