On November 7, the U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of health care reform, the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962). The bill, approved by a vote of 220-215, is estimated to cost $894 billion and projected to cover 36 million currently uninsured Americans. It includes a public insurance plan and an expansion of Medicaid up to 150% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), as well as several important reproductive health provisions, such as the inclusion of our community providers in health exchanges, the expansion of Medicaid Family Planning coverage at a state’s option, and funding for comprehensive sex education.The bill, however, also contains a devastating setback for women’s health. Late last night, to secure Democratic votes
needed to pass the “rule” (a procedural vote governing debate on the bill itself), House Democratic leaders agreed to allow a vote on an amendment by anti-choice Representative Bart Stupak
(D-MI), along with Reps. Joseph Pitts (R-PA), Brad Ellsworth (D-IN), Christopher Smith (R-NJ), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), and Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA), to ban abortion coverage in health care reform. The rule passed by a vote of 242-192 early this afternoon, making way for debate on H.R. 3962 and the two amendments allowed by the Rules Committee: the restriction on abortion coverage and a Republican alternative amendment to the entire health care reform bill.Following debate, the House voted 240-194 (Roll Call Vote 884) in favor of the Stupak amendment, which would effectively prohibit both private and public insurance plans from covering abortion. This amendment would exclude abortion from any benefits package, denying this service to millions gaining coverage, and force
millions more to lose the abortion coverage they currently have. Despite the fact that at present private plans can — and most do — cover abortion care, and despite an effort by
Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) to address concerns about the use of federal funds to pay for abortion coverage and care, Rep. Stupak demanded a separate vote on his anti-choice amendment. If the Stupak amendment stays in the bill through final passage of health care reform, it will represent a new and unprecedented restriction on abortion care in America.It is very difficult to reconcile the potential for health care reform to improve women’s health — by expanding coverage and protecting access to reproductive and sexual health care — with the likelihood that health care reform will further marginalize individual women for their choices. NFPRHA staff will continue to work with allies on the Hill and in our broader community of organizations to close this troubling gap.NFPRHA will continue to bring you the latest developments on health care reform and will publish email updates daily once the Senate begins consideration of its bill, which is
expected within the next few weeks. As always, if you have questions or comments about NFPRHA’s efforts, please contact Robin Summers (rsummers@nfprha.org), Rachel Fey (rfey@nfprha.org), or Jackie Chimelewski (jchimelewski@nfprha.org) at 202-293-3114.
Donate Now! Support NFPRHA’s mission to provide accessible family planning and reproductive health care services and build a stronger society.Are you a Federal Employee? Contribute to NFPRHA through the Combined Federal Campaign. Our number is 12159.When you use GoodSearch to search the web, a
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