US health department investigates 13 states that require insurance plans to cover abortion

HHS is looking into the states for ‘alleged disregard of, or confusion about’ the federal Weldon amendment

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The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said on Thursday that it is investigating 13 states that require state-regulated health insurance plans to cover abortion services.

HHS officials said in a news release that the department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is looking into the states for allegedly violating the federal Weldon amendment, which prohibits federal funding for programs or state or local governments that “subjects any institutional or individual healthcare entity to discrimination on the basis that the healthcare entity does not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions”.