GOP Backs Massive Tax Increase To Phase Out Abortion Coverage By Private Insurers
The House GOP continues to place its heaviest emphasis on fighting abortion rights, and they’ve taken a lot of heat for it. Progressives, Democrats, pro-choice groups, and others have spared little criticism, but they’ve focused most heavily on three distinct lines: the fact that Republicans are ignoring job-creation as a priority; the fact that one of their pieces of legislation would allow hospitals to refuse to perform an abortion on a dying woman; and the fact that, until recently at least, the GOP wanted to limit tax-payer support for abortion to exclude incidences of non-forcible rape.
Here’s another one: The GOP’s plan to ban tax-payer money from funding abortions includes giant tax hikes for businesses.
More specifically, it would eliminate tax incentives on employer-provided health care benefits if those benefits cover abortion as a medical procedure.
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Ultimately, the impact of tax like the one in the Republican legislation would likely be to phase out abortion coverage in the private insurance market. This would upend the long-standing bipartisan consensus, which does not enshrine the idea that the government should exert pressure on private entities to deny medical services they don’t like. And — speaking of bipartisan consensus — it would run directly counter to the politically expedient conclusion by both parties that people should be able to keep the health care they already have.
Can we please stop pretending that the GOP cares about women, health, or jobs now?