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BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown co-joined a coalition of 20 states in sending a letter to congressional leadership urging them to reject efforts to undermine negotiations on extending Enhanced Premium Tax Credits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Some members of Congress, as part of these negotiations, are attempting to impose unlawful restrictions that would prohibit ACA insurance plans from covering abortion services. In the letter, the coalition argues that such a proposal would violate state sovereignty, conflict with existing state laws and regulations, and put residents’ access to critical healthcare at risk.
The ACA’s Enhanced Premium Tax Credits, designed to help alleviate the high cost of health care for millions of Americans, are set to expire at the end of the year. If these credits are not extended, millions of families will face skyrocketing healthcare premium costs in the new year. Recent reporting on the negotiations to extend the tax credits indicate that some Republican members of Congress are attempting to condition their support to extend the credits only if a stipulation is added that prohibits all ACA insurance plans that receive the federal tax credits from providing coverage for abortion services.
As part of their argument to roll back access to reproductive care, Republicans falsely suggest that federal dollars are being used to pay for abortion services. Federal dollars are not used to pay for abortion services in Maryland. Existing law explicitly prevents federal dollars from being used for these purposes and states with insurance plans that offer coverage for abortion services charge enrollees a separate fee to cover costs.
In its letter, the coalition argues that states must be able to continue exercising their independence in developing healthcare policy that directly impacts the coalition members’ residents, consistent with the structure of the ACA and states’ sovereign authority in healthcare regulation.
Abortion services are often lifesaving. Research shows states that restricted abortion access following the overturning of Roe v. Wade have experienced a sharp rise in sepsis, infant death, and pregnancy-associated deaths. States have a right to protect the health and safety of their residents and prohibiting coverage of these crucial services will be life threatening.
This proposal is the latest attempt by the federal government to restrict access to lifesaving reproductive healthcare, and the coalition argues it is yet another attempt to implement a back-door federal abortion ban. It follows the Trump administration’s effort to defund Planned Parenthood, which Attorney General Brown and 23 attorneys general filed a lawsuit in July to prevent, and just last week, won a temporary court order blocking the administration’s actions while the case continues. The proposal also comes after Attorney General Brown along with a coalition of other states, opposed a Trump administration–proposed rule to restrict access to abortion services for veterans and their families by banning abortion at all Veterans Affairs medical centers and eliminating exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of a pregnant veteran.
With this letter, Attorney General Brown and the coalition are asking congressional leadership to defend states’ sovereignty and reject any attempt to limit states’ ability to provide high-quality and affordable healthcare to residents, including reproductive healthcare.
Joining Attorney General Brown in sending this letter are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
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