Judge tosses Trump rule on billing for abortion coverage

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge in Baltimore on Friday struck down a Trump administration rule that abortion rights advocates called a maneuver to restrict access but officials defended as merely following the law.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake affects women covered under the Obama-era Affordable Care Act, not the majority with workplace insurance. The ruling hinged on the arcane question of whether a congressional requirement that insurers collect a “separate payment” for abortion coverage meant the companies also have to send their policyholders an additional, different bill, as the Trump administration wanted to require.

The judge's ruling means insurers can continue to make the charge for abortion coverage a line item on their monthly bill, or just give policyholders notice that it's included.

Although abortion is a legal medical procedure, federal law has long barred the use of taxpayer funds to pay for it in most cases. To secure the support of Democratic lawmakers opposed to abortion for his health law, former President Barack Obama agreed that insurers who covered the procedure would have to collect a separate payment and strictly segregate those funds from taxpayer subsidies for medical coverage.

But the law did not spell out the billing method insurers had to follow, and the Obama administration left it up to the companies to decide whether to list the relatively small cost of covering abortions on the main bill, or bill separately.

Abortion opponents cried foul, saying separate bills should be mandatory because that would clearly reflect the intent of the law. The Trump administration, which takes its lead on social issues from religious conservatives, agreed. Last year the Department of Health and Human Services proposed that separate bills would be required.

Planned...