2 insurers proposed to not cover Wash. abortions

May 22, 2013 @ 5:46 pm

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Two insurance companies who filed to compete in Washington state's health care exchange initially proposed not to provide abortion coverage, officials said Wednesday.

All current Washington health plans provide abortion insurance. Stephanie Marquis, a spokeswoman with the Washington state Office of the Insurance Commissioner, said the plans without such coverage in the health exchange were recently filed by Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of The Northwest and BridgeSpan Health Company.

A spokesman for Kaiser said it mistakenly omitted abortion coverage in its filings and is moving to correct the error. A spokeswoman for BridgeSpan said the company has been reassessing and making changes to its plans and intends to include coverage for abortion services.

The proposals set off frustration among advocates who have been pressing for a new state law to secure abortion coverage for all Washington health plans. Elaine Rose, the CEO of Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest, said it is evidence of the need for lawmakers to make it clear that abortion should be covered.

"What's going to happen next year, or the year after that or the year after that?" Rose said. "Are we going to constantly be at the whims of insurance carriers changing their minds?"

Opponents of the abortion insurance law have long argued that it's unnecessary since all the plans in the state have been providing abortion coverage. Advocates have been worried that plans may change due to new rules that create more administrative burdens for insurers when they cover abortions.

The insurance commissioner's office has also supported the law.

"Any time you don't have something written into law, there's a chance it won't be covered," Maquis said.


(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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Comments (24)


  • Add A Comment

  • HLC wrote...
    To a democrat.
    January 30, 2013 9:37 am
    Killing a baby is nothing more then a form of birth control. Sicko's.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Lonestar wrote...
    It's OK
    January 31, 2013 9:26 am
    They're only aborting future Democrats.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    To a republican.
    January 31, 2013 1:45 pm
    Killing a kid is nothing more then a form of 2nd amendment rights. Sicko's.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    It's OK
    January 31, 2013 1:47 pm
    They're only killing future Republicans.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • xplanes wrote...
    Like it or not
    January 31, 2013 2:28 pm
    Obamacare and this parity movement is all about forcing the entire American public to accept and fund abortion on demand without a constitutional amendment or any recourse in the courts. Once the government is in the business of funding births they can argue it would be discrimination not to fun abortion. The mental health parity law in Washington state was the groundwork for this approach. Now that it is covered the same as physical health, the same logic is being applied to abortion. As long as the government is in the business of supplying these things the fairness standard is applied. If we were free to buy plans that covered pregnancies or not then they couldn't force us to buy a plan that supports abortion. This state requires all plans offered cover abortion. Now the abortion industry wants parity coverage. This is how ^%^%ed up things get when you hand control over to the government. No more economic freedom. No more freedom of conscience. We work to support the state and do it's bidding.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • xplanes wrote...
    correction...
    January 31, 2013 2:30 pm
    It should have said "This state requires all plans offered cover pregnancies".
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • xplanes wrote...
    Odd
    February 7, 2013 1:38 pm
    When all the above comments were originally made the article we were commenting on was speaking about the upcoming hearing and now all that article was removed and a new article was put in its place. Even though the comments above are mostly not specific to the article it is an odd editorial practice that could leave late readers into thinking we were commenting on the article as it now exists. I'm starting to believe this website is being administered by high school students.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Moondoggie wrote...
    X-Plane
    February 7, 2013 3:25 pm
    I once was reading the comments about a story and saw a comment that was FANTASTIC. The writer had nailed it! Then I realized that I was the author and had written it almost 6 months earlier. So you never know with this website what you will find.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Moondoggie wrote...
    X-planes
    February 7, 2013 3:28 pm
    I also saw something that Ch had written that made some sense, so it could be that even the names and the comments get mixed up sometimes.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • imanegro wrote...
    gotta make sure that killing babies is still OK
    February 7, 2013 3:42 pm
    Gotta love liberals.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • cigarfan wrote...
    Sorry RWNJ's..........
    February 7, 2013 5:26 pm
    But this is why WA is blue....and if you decide to live here...you'll have to get out of the way of women's rights.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • maplefish wrote...
    Cigar moron
    February 22, 2013 9:59 pm
    Ohhhh, you are so hip & progressive. Yeah, real cool. " keep you laws off my body, unless you pay for my ABORTION"....liberal chickenshits! Can't even spend $5 bucks a month for their own birth control. Absolutely no PERSONAL RESPONSIBILTY! eF YOU!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }