Abortion likely to kill S 1796 health care reform bill

U.S. Senate candidates Jane Norton, Tom Wiens and Ken Buck never would vote for the pro choice language in the Senate Finance Committee’s health insurance reform bill, S 1796 (see the bill’s language after the jump). Nor would the party’s candidates for governor, Scott McInnis, Josh Penry or Dan Maes. I don’t see how there can be a compromise between abortion opponents and supporters on this.

Senators Mark Udall (D-CO) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) probably wouldn’t vote for the bill unless it allowed private insurers and the Feds to pay for abortion services. Although Governor Bill Ritter’s personally against abortion, it’s apparently not important so far as the health care bill is concerned, because he’s joining the senators in calling for a straight up or down vote on the public option health plan, or government-run HMO that’s being demanded by the hard left.

After live blogging my reading of S 1796, it’s clear that the writers of the bill want to have it both ways. They want to allow insurers and the Feds to cover abortion services, or not. And they want to prohibit the use of government funds to pay for abortion services, except under certain circumstances, which pro-life folks won’t like. I’m republishing the sections of the bill below.

3 ‘‘SEC. 2245. SPECIAL RULES RELATING TO COVERAGE OF
4 ABORTION SERVICES.
5 ‘‘(a) VOLUNTARY CHOICE OF COVERAGE OF ABOR6
TION SERVICES.—
7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other
8 provision of this subpart and subject to paragraph
9 (3)—
10 ‘‘(A) nothing in this subpart shall be con11
strued to require a health benefits plan to pro12
vide coverage of services described in paragraph
13 (2)(A) or (2)(B) as part of its essential benefits
14 package for any plan year; and
15 ‘‘(B) the offeror of a health benefits plan
16 shall determine whether or not the plan pro17
vides coverage of services described in para18
graph (2)(A) or (2)(B) as part of such package
19 for the plan year.
20 ‘‘(2) ABORTION SERVICES.—
21 ‘‘(A) ABORTIONS FOR WHICH PUBLIC
22 FUNDING IS PROHIBITED.—The services de23
scribed in this subparagraph are abortions for
24 which the expenditure of Federal funds appro25
priated for the Department of Health and
141
O:\FRA\FRA09275.xml [file 1 of 7] S.L.C.
1 Human Services is not permitted, based on the
2 law as in effect as of the date that is 6 months
3 before the beginning of the plan year involved.
4 ‘‘(B) ABORTIONS FOR WHICH PUBLIC
5 FUNDING IS ALLOWED.—The services described
6 in this subparagraph are abortions for which
7 the expenditure of Federal funds appropriated
8 for the Department of Health and Human
9 Services is permitted, based on the law as in ef10
fect as of the date that is 6 months before the
11 beginning of the plan year involved.
12 ‘‘(3) ASSURED AVAILABILITY OF VARIED COV13
ERAGE THROUGH EXCHANGES.—
14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall
15 assure that with respect to qualified health ben16
efits plans offered in any exchange established
17 pursuant to this title—
18 ‘‘(i) there is at least one such plan
19 that provides coverage of services described
20 in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of para21
graph (2); and
22 ‘‘(ii) there is at least one such plan
23 that does not provide coverage of services
24 described in paragraph (2)(A).
142
O:\FRA\FRA09275.xml [file 1 of 7] S.L.C.
1 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULES.—For purposes of
2 subparagraph (A)—
3 ‘‘(i) a plan shall be treated as de4
scribed in subparagraph (A)(ii) if the plan
5 does not provide coverage of services de6
scribed in either paragraph (2)(A) or
7 (2)(B); and
8 ‘‘(ii) if a State has one exchange cov9
ering both the individual and small group
10 markets, the Secretary shall meet the re11
quirements of subparagraph (A) separately
12 with respect to each such market.
13 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION OF USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—
14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a qualified health bene15
fits plan provides coverage of services described in
16 subsection (a)(2)(A), the offeror of the plan shall
17 not use any amount attributable to any of the fol
fol18
lowing for purposes of paying for such services:
19 ‘‘(A) The credit under section 36B(b) of
20 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (and the
21 amount of the advance payment of the credit
22 under section 2248 of the Social Security Act).
23 ‘‘(B) Any cost-sharing subsidy under sec24
tion 2247.
143
O:\FRA\FRA09275.xml [file 1 of 7] S.L.C.
1 ‘‘(2) SEGREGATION OF FUNDS.—In the case of
2 a plan to which paragraph (1) applies, the offeror of
3 the plan shall, out of amounts not described in para4
graph (1), segregate an amount equal to the actu5
arial amounts determined under paragraph (3) for
6 all enrollees from the amounts described in para7
graph (1).
8 ‘‘(3) ACTUARIAL VALUE OF OPTIONAL SERVICE
9 COVERAGE.—
10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall
11 estimate the basic per enrollee, per month cost,
12 determined on an average actuarial basis, for
13 including coverage under a qualified health ben14
efits plan of the services described in subsection
15 (a)(2)(A).
16 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making such
17 estimate, the Secretary—
18 ‘‘(i) may take into account the impact
19 on overall costs of the inclusion of such
20 coverage, but may not take into account
21 any cost reduction estimated to result from
22 such services, including prenatal care, de23
livery, or postnatal care;
1 ‘‘(ii) shall estimate such costs as if
2 such coverage were included for the entire
3 population covered; and
4 ‘‘(iii) may not estimate such a cost at
5 less than $1 per enrollee, per month.
6 ‘‘(c) NO DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF PROVI7
SION OF ABORTION.—A qualified health benefits plan may
8 not discriminate against any individual health care pro9
vider or health care facility because of its willingness or
10 unwillingness to provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or
11 refer for abortions.’’.
12 SEC. 1202. APPLICATION OF STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS RE13
GARDING ABORTION.
14 (a) NO PREEMPTION OF STATE LAWS REGARDING
15 ABORTION.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed to
16 preempt or otherwise have any effect on State laws regard17
ing the prohibition of (or requirement of) coverage, fund18
ing, or procedural requirements on abortions, including
19 parental notification or consent for the performance of an
20 abortion on a minor.
21 (b) NO EFFECT ON FEDERAL LAWS REGARDING
22 ABORTION.—
23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act shall be
24 construed to have any effect on Federal laws regard25
ing—
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O:\FRA\FRA09275.xml [file 1 of 7] S.L.C.
1 (A) conscience protection;
2 (B) willingness or refusal to provide abor3
tion; and
4 (C) discrimination on the basis of the will5
ingness or refusal to provide, pay for, cover, or
6 refer for abortion or to provide or participate in
7 training to provide abortion.
8 (c) NO EFFECT ON FEDERAL CIVIL RIGHTS LAW.—
9 Nothing in this section shall alter the rights and obliga10
tions of employees and employers under title VII of the
11 Civil Rights Act of 1964.

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