Restricting insurance coverage of abortion.BACKGROUND: Compared with abortion issues that have grabbed significant media and public attention, state requirements governing private insurers' coverage of abortion have, by and large, remained below the radar screen. A handful of states prohibit private insurers from covering abortion services, except in cases of life endangerment; more extensive coverage may be purchased at an additional charge. Lawsuits challenging these restrictions have had mixed results: In 1986, a federal appeals court invalidated in·val·i·datetr.v. in·val·i·dat·ed, in·val·i·dat·ing, in·val·i·dates To make invalid; nullify. in·val Rhode Island's requirement that private insurers exclude coverage of most abortions; in 1992, however, a federal district court upheld a similar Missouri statute. More often, states have banned abortion coverage in public employees' insurance policies or in other cases where public funds See Fund, 3. See also: Public are used to insure employees. These policies range from prohibiting coverage for abortion services altogether to offering coverage only when necessary to preserve the woman's health and life or in cases of rape, incest incest, sexual relations between persons to whom marriage is prohibited by custom or law because of their close kinship. Ideas of kinship, however, vary widely from group to group, hence the definition of incest also varies. or fetal abnormality abnormality /ab·nor·mal·i·ty/ (ab?nor-mal´i-te) 1. the state of being abnormal. 2. a malformation. ab·nor·mal·i·ty n. . HIGHLIGHTS: * 5 states restrict insurance coverage of abortion in private insurance plans; 4 limit coverage to cases when the woman's life is endangered; 1 limits coverage to life endangerment, rape and incest. Additional abortion coverage is permitted only through purchase of an additional rider and payment of an additional premium. * 12 states restrict abortion coverage in insurance plans for public employees. * 3 of the states provide abortion coverage only when the woman's life is endangered. * 6 of the states, in addition to offering coverage to save the woman's life, provide coverage to protect the woman's health or in cases of rape, incest or fetal abnormality. * 2 of the states flatly prohibit any insurance coverage of abortion for public employees. * 1 of the states only allows coverage of abortion in cases of life endangerment, rape and incest, if the coverage is purchased by the enrollee through an additional rider and at additional cost. FOR MORE INFORMATION: For information on state legislative and policy activity click on Guttmacher's Monthly State Update and for state level information and data on reproductive health Within the framework of WHO's definition of health[1] as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, reproductive health, or sexual health/hygiene issues, click on Guttmacher's State Center. To see state specific abortion information click on State Facts About Abortion. Kurth A et al., Reproductive and sexual health benefits in private health insurance plans in Washington State, Family Planning family planning Use of measures designed to regulate the number and spacing of children within a family, largely to curb population growth and ensure each family’s access to limited resources. Perspectives, 2001, 33(4):153-160 & 179. The Alan Guttmacher Alan Frank Guttmacher (1898-1974) was an American physician. He served as president of Planned Parenthood and vice-president of the American Eugenics Society, founded the Association for the Study of Abortion in 1964, was a member of the Association for Voluntary Institute (AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) A machine intelligence that resembles that of a human being. Considered impossible by many, most artificial intelligence (AI) research, projects and products deal with specific applications such as industrial robots, playing chess, ), Uneven & Unequal: Insurance Coverage and Reproductive Health Services, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of : AGI, 1994.
RESTRICTING INSURANCE COVERAGE OF ABORTION
PRIVATE INSURANCE POLICIES
Limited Limited to
to Life Life, Rape
STATE Endangerment * and Incest *
Colorado
Idaho X
Illinois
Kentucky X
Massachusetts
Mississippi
Missouri X
Nebraska
North Dakota X
Ohio
Oklahoma X
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island (a)
South Carolina
Virginia
TOTAL 4 1
INSURANCE POLICIES FOR
PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
Abortion Coverage Offered
in Cases of:
STATE Life Health
Colorado
Idaho
Illinois X
Kentucky
Massachusetts X ([dagger]) X ([dagger])
Mississippi X
Missouri
Nebraska X ([double dagger])
North Dakota X
Ohio
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania X
Rhode Island X
South Carolina X
Virginia X
TOTAL 9 1
INSURANCE POLICIES FOR
PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
Abortion Coverage Offered
in Cases of:
Rape/
STATE Health Incest
Colorado
Idaho
Illinois
Kentucky
Massachusetts X ([dagger])
Mississippi X
Missouri
Nebraska
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania X
Rhode Island X
South Carolina X
Virginia X
TOTAL 1 5
INSURANCE POLICIES FOR PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
Abortion
Coverage Coverage in Cases of Life, Rape
Never and Incest Allowed By Purchase
STATE Offered of Rider at an Additional Cost
Colorado X
Idaho
Illinois
Kentucky X
Massachusetts
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
North Dakota
Ohio X
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Virginia
TOTAL 2 1
(a) Enforcement permanently enjoined by court order; policy not
in effect.
* Additional abortion coverage is available only at an additional
cost.
([dagger]) State specifically prohibits coverage of postviability
"partial-birth" abortions.
([double dagger]) The individual employee must bear the cost of
abortion coverage for other circumstances.
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