No Abortion Coverage for Medicaid Act
No Abortion Coverage for Medicaid Act would restrict the use of federal funds in Medicaid and CHIP demonstration projects (waivers) to support abortion services. Specifically, it adds a new subsection to section 1115 of the Social Security Act prohibiting the approval or extension of any experimental, pilot, or demonstration project that provides federal financial assistance for abortion or for health benefits coverage that includes abortion (including expenses for travel or lodging to obtain an abortion). The bill creates narrow exceptions (rape or incest; life-endangering conditions as certified by a physician; and treatment for miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy). The findings section frames this as reaffirming the Hyde Amendment’s restrictions on federal funds for abortion and asserts that such restrictions cannot be superseded by 1115 waivers. In short, if enacted, states could not use 1115 demonstrations to expand abortion coverage or related travel/lodging subsidies with federal Medicaid/CHIP funds, except in the specified exception scenarios.
Key Points
- 1Adds a new subsection to Section 1115 (Medicaid/CHIP demonstration authority) that prohibits approvals or extensions of projects that fund abortion or provide health benefits coverage that includes abortion, including travel or lodging for abortion.
- 2Effective upon enactment; the prohibition applies to demonstrations under Title XIX (Medicaid) and Title XXI (CHIP).
- 3Exceptions to the prohibition: abortions resulting from rape or incest; abortions necessary to save a life or address a life-endangering condition as certified by a physician; and treatment for miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy.
- 4Finds Hyde Amendment policy as a backdrop: it asserts federal funds should not be used for abortion and that 1115 waivers cannot override Hyde restrictions.
- 5The bill does not expand abortion funding; it limits the use of federal funds for abortion within Medicaid/CHIP demonstration programs.