Lawmakers in Virginia Limit Abortion Coverage

Private insurers that sell policies in Virginia under a key component of the national healthcare law will have to limit their coverage of abortions, The New York Times reports. Virginia lawmakers voted this week to bar certain insurers from covering abortions except in cases of rape, incest, and danger to the mother’s life.

The policy applies to private insurers that join a healthcare exchange, a state-level insurance marketplace designed primarily for low-income people that is mandated by the new federal law.

Virginia is one of eight states to limit abortion coverage as a condition of setting up an exchange. Virginia is also challenging the constitutionality of the national healthcare law in court.

Opponents and supporters agree that these new coverage restrictions, combined with existing limits contained in the 1977 Hyde Amendment, could further scale back the availability of abortion coverage.