Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.LINCOLN — It didn't take long Monday before legislative debate about expanding Medicaid coverage of family planning services wound up entangled in the politics of abortion.
State Sen. Kathy Campbell of Lincoln said the bill at issue could save the state money and improve the health of women and children.
"It's an important public health issue," she said, in introducing Legislative Bill 540.
Sen. Tony Fulton of Lincoln responded with an amendment barring any funds from the expanded coverage from going to any entity that "performs or promotes elective abortion."
In practice, that would mean Planned Parenthood and its affiliates, he said.
Anti-abortion groups have been trying around the nation to cut off public funds for Planned Parenthood, one of the nation's largest abortion providers.
Fulton said he would not fight the bill if the amendment were adopted.
Fellow Lincoln Sen. Amanda McGill, in turn, expressed frustration that abortion politics would stand in the way of helping low-income women plan their families and avoid unwanted pregnancies.
"This is an opportunity to prevent unplanned pregnancies and therefore abortions, which is what all of you say you want," she said.
State law now bars Medicaid funds from being used for abortions, except to save a woman's life or in cases of rape or incest.
LB 540 would direct state officials to seek the same federal Medicaid waiver granted to 29 other states, including Iowa and Missouri.
Under the waiver, the state Medicaid program would cover family planning services for women who make up to 185 percent of the federal poverty level.
That equals a household income of $42,643 for a woman in a family of four.
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services estimated that 26,000 additional women could qualify for the expanded coverage.
Campbell said Nebraska could reap savings of $5.5 million in general funds by spending an estimated $514,000.
Medicaid family planning waivers have been shown to save money in states where they have been adopted.
Iowa, for example, saved $7 for every $1 spent during the first year it had the federal waiver. A 2009 study projected those savings would grow after five years to $15.12 for every $1 spent.
In Minnesota, the number of abortions dropped significantly after the state got a Medicaid family planning waiver. That state estimated it saved $4 in general funds for every $1 spent on family planning.
Nebraska lawmakers took up the debate at the same time national controversy rages over a federal ruling about health insurance coverage.
The ruling would force Catholic institutions, such as colleges, hospitals and social service agencies, to include coverage of birth control, female sterilization and the morning-after pill in employee health insurance plans.
Opponents say the provision infringes on religious freedom by forcing institutions to pay for services to which they have a moral objection.
The Nebraska Catholic Conference also opposes LB 540 and has been lobbying heavily against it.
But the measure would expand existing coverage in a public program, funded with state and federal tax dollars.
Nebraska's Medicaid program already covers family planning services for women who are eligible for full Medicaid coverage, which means most have incomes below the federal poverty level.
Debate on the measure will continue Tuesday.
Contact the writer:
402-473-9583, martha.stoddard@owh.com
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