Biden will order HHS to consider using Medicaid to support women seeking abortions across state lines
by Morgan Chalfant - 08/03/22 5:00 AM ET
President Biden on Wednesday will sign an executive order directing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to consider using Medicaid to pay for expenses for those who cross state lines to seek abortions.
The executive order will direct HHS “to consider action to advance access to reproductive healthcare services, including through Medicaid for patients who travel out of state for reproductive healthcare services,” according to a White House fact sheet released on Wednesday.
The executive order will be the second that Biden has signed since the conservative Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion ruling, in June. Biden has been under pressure to take more aggressive actions to support abortion access as various states move to restrict the procedure following the ruling.
A senior Biden administration official told reporters on a call that the action would require states where abortion is legal to apply for Section 1115 Medicaid waivers to provide services for women crossing state lines for abortions.
The White House did not specify what costs Medicaid could potentially cover. A senior administration official told The Hill that HHS would soon provide more information on what a waiver could look like, saying it would help “cover certain costs” and largely target low-income women who receive Medicaid.
The White House had previously been looking at potentially turning to Medicaid to cover travel costs for women crossing states lines to receive an abortion, after the Supreme Court draft ruling leaked in May.
Medicaid funds could not be used to pay for abortions themselves because the Hyde Amendment prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for most abortions.
more
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/3585637-biden-will-order-hhs-to-consider-using-medicaid-to-support-women-seeking-abortions-across-state-lines/
