Just one day after the 2018 midterm elections, the Trump administration on Wednesday pushed two new rules in a crackdown on abortion rights.
The first regulation, which was finalized by the department of Health and Human Services, will allow nearly any employer to deny birth control coverage mandated by Obamacare on the basis of moral or religious exemptions. The second is a proposal brought forward by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to change billing requirements under the Affordable Care Act that aims to prevent federal funding from being used for abortion services.
The proposal would separate health care billing from abortion-related coverage, and will require insurers to send a separate monthly bill to customers for premiums related to abortion services.
Abortion rights activists argue that the steps taken by this administration to regulate access to abortion and contraception have been particularly detrimental to reproductive rights and healthcare. “The Trump-Pence administration has done more in two years to undermine access to reproductive health care than any administration in modern history has done in eight,” Emily Stewart, the vice president of public policy at Planned Parenthood said, according to Politico.
It remains unclear how many people will be affected by the proposed policy, but Modern Healthcare says it could impact individual market insurers in 24 states and D.C. That provide coverage for abortion services if it includes a surcharge.
Dawn Laguens, Planned Parenthood’s executive vice president, called the proposal “dangerous” and added that it’s not what most Americans want.