As of January 1, private health insurance providers in Maine were no longer allowed to subject abortion coverage to cost-sharing requirements such as deductibles and co-pays.
Signed into law by Gov. Janet Mills (D) over the summer — alongside a number of other abortion-related bills — LD 935 prohibits private insurers from imposing “deductible, copayment, coinsurance or other cost-sharing requirement” on those seeking an abortion.
Sponsored by Rep. Matt Moonen (D-Portland), LD 935 was approved by a roll call vote of 75-67 in the House and 22-12 in the Senate.
“The reality is that few people have the savings to afford a medical emergency, and cost-sharing most severely affects those with the fewest financial resources,” said Rep. Moonen in a statement published earlier this year by the governor’s office. “For those in need of access to abortion, those costs can mean a month’s rent or a car payment.”
“Scrambling to come up with the extra money for these out-of-pocket costs can cause delays in care, pushing a woman later into pregnancy and potentially further into economic distress,” Moonen concluded. “LD 935 will ensure that more Mainers do not struggle to access this most basic of care.”
Click Here to Read the Full Text of LD 935
Earlier this year, Mills signed into law one of the least restrictive abortion policies in the country, effectively removing all statutory limitations on the circumstances in which an abortion may be performed.
Previously, Maine state law prohibited abortion after the point of viability except in cases where the life or health of the mother was in jeopardy, but under LD 1619, women are allowed to abort their baby “after viability” if it is deemed “necessary in the professional judgment of a physician.”
LD 1619 officially went into effect in October of this year.
At that time LD 1619, only six other states – including Alaska, Colorado, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, and Vermont – and Washington, D.C. had similar laws on books allowing doctors, without restriction, to authorize abortions at any point during a pregnancy.
As the 131st Legislature enters its second session, state lawmakers continue to consider the issue of abortion.
LD 780 — sponsored by Sen. Eloise Vitelli (D-Sagadahoc) and carried over from the previous session — proposes an amendment to the state’s constitution that would enshrine a right to abortion by protecting “a right to personal reproductive autonomy.”
If passed, voters would be asked to weigh in on the amendment next November and would require support from the majority of Mainers in order to take effect.
[RELATED: Maine Lawmakers Will Consider Bill Enshrining Abortion In State’s Constitution]
When LD 935 was signed into law, only seven other states — including California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, and Washington — had similar provisions on the books that required private insurers to cover abortions but prohibited providers from imposing any of out-of-pocket costs for them.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="24351 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=24351">2 Comments
Instead of supporting mothers and allowing babies to be born, the leftist government of Maine has deemed us “Abortionland”. When will people wake up to the “Abortion distortion” that has rocked our nation for 40+ years? What if we spent as much time on encouraging adoption, assisting mothers AND fathers who would like to keep their child but consider it an economic burden? We would have a thriving community. I agree with Concerned Citizen – I also an repulsed at the lack of consideration of the baby. “Follow the Science” was all we heard during Covid outbreaks. Well, take your own advice Ms Mills and others – follow the science and understand that a baby growing in the womb of a woman is NOT the woman’s body. The baby has his/her own DNA and everything needed for life. The Declaration of Independence reads: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Under this Declaration, every baby has the right to LIFE! Historically speaking, all nations who have gone down this “Abortion distortion” road and have killed their babies and children to sacrifice to gods has failed. I want to ask Ms. Mills – to what god are you sacrificing Maine babies to? It’s not the God of heaven and earth that I believe in. He has created and formed each baby in the womb. When a baby is aborted, you are destroying God’s creation.
The taxpayers are forced to pay for these repugnant abortions. Planned Parenthood profits off the selling of baby parts. Some of that money gets funneled into the pockets of corrupt political hacks such as Moonen and Vitell. Pretty simple.