Current:Home > FinanceNevada is joining the list of states using Medicaid to pay for more abortions-InfoLens
Nevada is joining the list of states using Medicaid to pay for more abortions
View Date:2024-12-23 11:35:02
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada is primed to become the 18th state to use Medicaid funds to increase access to abortion for lower-income women.
The change is a result of a court ruling that became official this week after the state government declined to appeal it within 30 days of the release of a written opinion in the case that found denying coverage violated the equal right protections adopted by the state’s voters in 2022. Nevada officials have not said when the coverage will begin, but the judge said it should be no later than early November.
“Nevadans who have Medicaid as their health insurance will no longer need to fear that they will be forced to carry a pregnancy against their will,” Rebecca Chan, a lawyer with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, which sued in the case, said in a statement.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and ended the nationwide right to abortion, the issue has been a legal and political battleground. Most Republican-controlled states have implemented bans or restrictions, including 14 that now bar abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with some exceptions, and four more that generally prohibit it after about the first six weeks of pregnancy. Most Democratic-led states have taken steps to protect access.
Nevada, with a Republican governor and Democratic-controlled legislature, has protected access. Voters in November will consider enshrining the right to abortion in the state constitution; if it passes, there will be a second vote in 2026.
Apart from whether a state bans or restricts abortion, an important factor in its availability is whether it pays for abortions for those who have medical insurance through Medicaid, the joint state-federal program for lower-income people.
Under a 1977 law, federal funds are prohibited from paying for abortion except in cases of rape, incest and when abortion is necessary to save the life of the pregnant person. But states can use their allocations to pay for abortion under more circumstances.
The Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights, says that most follow the federal law for the state funds, too — or do so but with some additional exceptions.
But 17 of them pay for abortion without limitations. Nine of those are under court orders and eight cover abortion voluntarily.
KFF, a nonprofit that researches health care issues, says that about one-third of the nation’s women ages 15 to 49 live in states where abortion is not banned but where Medicaid covers abortion in only limited cases. And about one in five women in those states has Medicaid insurance coverage. Those with Medicaid are disproportionately low-income, Native American and Black.
veryGood! (6)
Related
- U.S.-Mexico water agreement might bring relief to parched South Texas
- South Africa reelects President Cyril Ramaphosa after dramatic coalition deal
- You're not Warren Buffet. You should have your own retirement investment strategy.
- 9 people injured in stabbing incident at Indianapolis strip mall, police say
- Burger King is giving away a million Whoppers for $1: Here's how to get one
- More than 171K patients traveled out-of-state for abortions in 2023, new data shows
- Woman holding large knife at Denver intersection shot and killed by police, chief says
- Missouri man drives stolen truck onto a runway behind plane that had just landed in St. Louis
- It's Red Cup Day at Starbucks: Here's how to get your holiday cup and cash in on deals
- A new airport could spark the economy in a rural part of Florida. Will the workforce be ready?
Ranking
- Repair Hair Damage In Just 90 Seconds With This Hack from WNBA Star Kamilla Cardoso
- How many points did Caitlin Clark score today? Fever star has near triple-double in win
- Who won Tony Awards for 2024: Full list of winners and nominees
- Emhoff will speak at groundbreaking of the memorial for the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting victims
- Video ‘bares’ all: Insurers say bear that damaged luxury cars was actually a person in a costume
- Angelina Jolie and Daughter Vivienne Shut Down the Red Carpet at the 2024 Tony Awards
- Severe, chaotic weather around US with high temperatures in Southwest and Midwest, snow in Rockies
- On its 12th anniversary, DACA is on the ropes as election looms
Recommendation
-
Biden EPA to charge first-ever ‘methane fee’ for drilling waste by oil and gas companies
-
Henry Cavill preps to be a first-time dad in Father's Day post: 'Any tips?'
-
7 shot when gunfire erupts at a pop-up party in Massachusetts
-
Museum in Switzerland to pull famous paintings by Monet, van Gogh over Nazi looting fears
-
The Bachelorette's Desiree Hartsock Gives Birth, Welcomes Baby No. 3 With Chris Siegfried
-
7 shot when gunfire erupts at a pop-up party in Massachusetts
-
Florida State drops Virginia to stay alive at College World Series
-
Real Housewives' Melissa Gorga Shares a Hack To Fit Triple the Amount of Clothes in Your Suitcase