U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine has joined with Republican colleagues to introduce a bill that they say aims to stabilize health insurance premiums in the individual market.
Some elements of the legislation have the backing of national insurance, physician and hospital groups. But one major sticking point is a provision that critics say would effectively eliminate abortion coverage, even in private plans.
The major components of the bill include some that may sound familiar, such as funding for cost-sharing reduction subsidies. Those are payments insurance companies get to lower co-pays and deductibles for lower-income individuals. President Donald Trump ended those payments last year — Collins’ bill would reinstate funding for three years.
Her bill would also provide $30 billion in funding over three years so states can establish high-risk pools, which help cover high medical costs for some patients.
Those provisions have the backing of the Maine Medical Association, says spokesman Gordon Smith.
“This is very important in Maine to stabilize the insurance marketplace, and it’s a shame that it’s being held hostage to other issues,” he says.
The “other” issues Smith is talking about are restrictions to abortion coverage. A federal law called the Hyde amendment prohibits the use of federal funds to cover abortions. Language in Collins’ bill, Smith says, goes a step further by barring the use of cost-sharing reductions and reinsurance payments for plans that simply offer abortion coverage.
To read the rest of “Critics Say Susan Collins’ Bill To Stabilize Insurance Market Would Restrict Abortion Coverage,” an article by Maine Public’s Patty Wight, please follow this link to the story online.
