WASHINGTON, D.C. — Four years after the Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, there is a growing divide in abortion access determined by widely varying state policies. A new interactive resource from the National Health Law Program (NHeLP) provides an overview of the increasing disparities in insurance coverage of abortion across the United States.
NHeLP’s newly created Abortion Coverage Map provides a state-by-state overview of abortion coverage policies across Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplaces, and private insurance plans. While some states responded to Dobbs by doubling down on abortion restrictions, other states committed to reproductive freedom by taking crucial steps to protect access to abortion. The map includes analyses of each state’s abortion coverage landscape and citations of the policies that protect, restrict, or expand access to abortion.
This tool serves as a resource for advocates, policymakers, researchers, providers, journalists, and the public seeking to understand the rapidly evolving abortion coverage landscape.
State policies vary dramatically, creating a patchwork system where your ability to access abortion often depends on your zip code and what insurance coverage you have.
“Comprehensive insurance coverage of abortion is essential to equitable access to health care,” said Cat Duffy, Ph.D., Senior Policy Analyst at the National Health Law Program. “Yet state policies vary dramatically, creating a patchwork system where your ability to access abortion often depends on your zip code and what insurance coverage you have. This map helps illustrate those disparities, highlights important points of recent progress, and provides advocates with tools to push their own states toward more equitable, comprehensive access to abortion.”
View the Abortion Coverage Map: https://healthlaw.org/state-abortion-coverage-map/
About Cat Duffy:
Cat Duffy, Ph.D., is a Senior Policy Analyst in the National Health Law Program’s Washington, D.C., office. She works on reproductive and sexual health care access and services, with a particular focus on abortion coverage and access.
