Republican Lawmakers Seek to Ban Abortion Coverage in Congress Health Plans

U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) is urging the U.S Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to discontinue health care plans that cover abortion procedures funded by taxpayers in those health plans.

Alongside Sen. Lee, a letter from both the House and the Senate was sent with Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ).

The letter references the 1984 legislation that prohibits elective abortions funded with federal money.

The Smith Amendment to the Financial Service Appropriations bill explicitly denies funds to "pay for an abortion, or the administrative expenses in connection with any health plan under the Federal employees health benefits program which provides any benefits or coverage for abortions."

However, this excludes exceptions when the mother's life is endangered or if the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest.

"This longstanding provision of law restricts OPM from administering government contributions in connection with any health plan for federal employees that covers elective abortion," the letter reads.

The lawmakers state that OPM has been permitting elective abortion coverage in violation of the amendment.

Unauthorized Procedures

Since 2014, a regulation from the Obama administration has enabled federal premium contributions for Congressional members and their staff who select Gold-tier insurance policies through the District of Columbia's small business marketplace.

Additionally, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires that Congressional employees obtain coverage through an Exchange, and the current system allows government subsidies for plans that may include abortion services.

"OPM claims that these abortion subsidies are allowed by attributing the segregated costs of the elective abortion coverage and associated administrative expenses to the individual's contribution, rather than the taxpayers' contribution," the lawmakers argue.

The lawmakers contend that OPM's method of providing these abortion-related subsidies to Congressional members contradicts both Section 1303 of the Affordable Care Act and the Smith Amendment, which prohibits federal employee health plans from covering elective abortions.

Additional Context

The lawmakers also argue this practice appears to breach the Antideficiency Act, a law that forbids government spending or financial commitments without proper congressional appropriation authority.

"Taxpayers, who contribute 72 to 75 percent of these health benefit premiums, do not want their hard-earned tax dollars to pay for abortions," the lawmakers further argue. "The Smith Amendment does not allow Members of Congress and Congressional staff to operate under a different set of rules than other federal employees when it comes to taxpayer funding of abortion."

The lawmakers note that CareFirst's BluePreferred PPO Gold and UnitedHealthcare's Choice Plus Gold are offered through DC Health Link without elective abortion coverage, and recommend these as the only two plans that should be available in 2026.

"Therefore, we request swift action by OPM to ensure that any health insurance subsidies for members of Congress or Congressional staff are in full compliance with the clear terms of the Smith Amendment. Any DC SHOP plan that covers elective abortion should not be eligible for a government contribution," the letter concludes.

The letter received support from lawmakers across the country, with signatories including U.S. Senators Jim Banks (R-IN), Steve Daines (R-MT), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ted Cruz (R-TX), James Lankford (R-OK), and Pete Ricketts (R-NE), along with U.S. Representatives from 15 states: Sheri Biggs (R-SC), Tim Burchett (R-TN), Eric Burlison (R-MO), Ben Cline (R-VA), Andrew Clyde (R-GA), Michael Cloud (R-TX), Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Russ Fulcher (R-ID), Michael Guest (R-MS), Clay Higgins (R-LA), Mark Messmer (R-IN), Mary Miller (R-IL), Barry Moore (R-AL), Keith Self (R-TX), Marlin Stutzman (R-IN), and Daniel Webster (R-FL).