In the Press...
CatholicVote article on PLC statement on CMS Section 1303 guidance'Pro-life caucus praises CMS guidance barring states from redirecting unused abortion funds'By Elise Winland Lawmakers in the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus welcomed new guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Dec. 18 that clarifies that leftover abortion-related funds collected under Obamacare cannot be redirected to support state-level abortion programs. The statement was released by the caucus’ co-chairs: Republican Reps. Chris Smith of New Jersey, Andy Harris of Maryland, Bob Onder of Missouri, Michelle Fischbach of Minnesota, and Kat Cammack of Florida. The CMS guidance, released Dec. 9, centers on Section 1303 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), also known as Obamacare, which requires qualified health plans that cover elective abortions to collect a separate payment from enrollees for abortion-related services. The law mandates that those funds be kept segregated from federal subsidies. According to the caucus’ statement, the new CMS guidance clarifies that any unused money from the segregated account must be returned to the health plan issuers at year’s end, rather than being reallocated by states for broader abortion programs. “We applaud CMS’s clear guidance that leftover money collected by qualified health plans (QHPs) to fund on-demand abortions, in compliance with Section 1303 of the PPACA, are returned to the QHP issuers,” the lawmakers said. “Leftover funds do not become available to states seeking to bankroll extreme abortion agendas.” The guidance addresses previous concerns that some state legislatures could seize unspent funds for state-run grant programs, effectively “blurring the line between federal taxpayer dollars and individual contributions,” according to the statement. The caucus also credited CMS leadership under Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz for “preventing violations of Section 1303” and reiterated their commitment to upholding the Hyde Amendment’s longstanding prohibition on using federal taxpayer dollars for elective abortions. In the statement, lawmakers argued that the PPACA conflicted with the Hyde Amendment by allowing plans that cover elective abortions to receive federal subsidies. They noted that while former President Barack Obama issued an executive order stating the law would comply with Hyde, it instead required health plans covering elective abortions to keep those funds completely separate from federal dollars. “Recent guidance from the Trump Administration reaffirmed the original intent of Section 1303,” the statement said. “It makes clear that these separate accounts cannot be used as abortion-agenda slush funds, and that any leftover funds must be returned to the health plans at the end of the plan year, preventing states from stockpiling funds to advance an abortion agenda.” |