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Roberts, Sarah C.M., Heather Gould, Katrina Kimport, Tracy A. Weitz, and Diana Greene Foster. “Out-of-Pocket Costs and Insurance Coverage for Abortion in the United States.” Women’s Health Issues Journal 24, no. 2 (2014): 211–18. http://www.ansirh.org/sites/default/files/publications/files/roberts-mar14-out_of_pocket.pdf.

Annotation

This article analyzes how pregnant people pay for abortion care in the U.S., including through private and public insurance, non-profit abortion funds, and out-of-pocket. The data show that regardless of insurance status, most people must pay out-of-pocket for abortion care. On average, participants in the study paid an average of $370 in out-of-pocket costs for an abortion, whereas participants whose public or private insurance did not cover abortion paid an average of $575.The article also details the development of abortion funds, which provide subsidies (both partial or full) to healthcare facilities to cover costs of a low-income person's abortion. The authors explain that even in states where Medicaid coverage for abortion is extended beyond the narrow exceptions listed in the Hyde Amendment, it is still difficult for a person to access insurance coverage and rare for any insurance to cover the all of of the related costs. Despite the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), which is meant to increase access to public and private healthcare, this article points out how new federal and state laws restrict the use of private and public insurance coverage for abortions. The article warns that, when it comes to abortion, limitations of the ACA may counter potential gains, and some people will even lose the abortion insurance coverage they previously had.

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