The recent executive order signed by President Barack Obama is aimed to prevent the spending of federal money towards abortions unless it is applicable to cases of incest, rape or where the woman’s life is compromised. However, with the rising costs associated with abortion it is possible to get access to abortion health insurance to cover most expenses.


Without Insurance

A quick assessment of statistics shows that if a woman is without insurance and goes in for an abortion 10 weeks pregnant, she stands to pay anywhere between $320 to $500 for the procedure. The longer the duration of the pregnancy, the higher are the risks and hence the more are the rates. For example, if the woman were pregnant at 16 weeks, it could cost anywhere between $500 and $700; for abortion on pregnancies of 20 weeks or more, costs tend to escalate above $2000 in some cases. Such late term abortions are difficult to perform and it is very difficult to seek qualified medical professionals who can perform abortions at the second trimester.


With Insurance

A woman with abortion health insurance would only have to pay extra expenses like co-payment towards routine outpatient type of surgery and this usually ranges in cost between $15 and $150 which again would be dependant on the specific insurance plan. In the case of medical abortion procedures, costs would include co-payments towards office visits and prescription drugs. Some health insurance plans provide coverage towards elective abortion expenses.

However, there is a ban on abortion health insurance in five states across the US namely Kentucky, Colorado, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Missouri, which only allow insurance towards abortion in the case of incest, rape or when there is danger to the woman’s life such as in the case of fetal abnormalities. Since the health insurance plans tend to differ across states and across insurance companies, it is important to check with the company as to whether they offer abortion health insurance or not.


Coverage

When it comes to abortion health insurance, the extent of coverage is dependent on multiple factors. For example, if this is a case of unplanned parenting where there has been a surprise pregnancy, 80% of the insurance policies pertaining to health care will include abortion expenses as well. However, the fact is that only 40% of the abortions are actually paid through the insurance. Arbitrary abortions or the voluntary kinds where the woman is not ready to have a child at the time are not included by abortion health insurance. In the case of fetal abnormalities or where the birth of the child might pose risks to the mother’s life or health, abortion expenses are covered by the abortion health insurance plan. In the case of instances such as rape, incest or forced sexual contact resulting in pregnancy, the expenses related to the abortion are covered by the plan.

In conclusion, it is important to assess individual abortion health insurance plans to find out what expenses are covered and what are not. Since several states across US do not allow full insurance coverage towards abortion, it helps to check whether coverage is applicable for a specific case.