As implementation of the Affordable Care Act begins to take shape in North Carolina, the question of whether abortions will be covered in the state’s health care exchange remains unanswered.
Both the N.C. House and Senate have voted to approve a bill that would not expand Medicaid under the act and establish a federally-run exchange in the state, though the bill must still be reviewed in conference committee.
The health care exchange will enable residents and small businesses to choose from a variety of different insurance policies.
The exchange, which will begin operating in 2014, is slated to offer at least one policy that covers abortion procedures and one policy that does not.
But legislators and lobbyists are watching closely to see if the state will join at least 20 other states that have passed laws to restrict abortion coverage in plans offered through the insurance exchange.
Rep. Verla Insko, D-Orange, said access to abortion coverage could be restricted by the Republican-controlled legislature.
“I would not be surprised if a bill came up to ban abortion coverage in the health exchange,” she said.
Insko said legislators have previously voted to restrict abortion coverage in the state’s Medicaid plan and in the “Women’s Right to Know” law — which includes requiring women to wait 24 hours before an abortion procedure.
“The state has a way of curtailing access to a process that’s legal,” she said.
