{"id":328240,"date":"2025-03-21T08:49:36","date_gmt":"2025-03-21T13:49:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=328240"},"modified":"2025-05-14T16:00:52","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T21:00:52","slug":"maryland-taxpayers-fund-abortions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/maryland-taxpayers-fund-abortions\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland will now take $25 million in ACA premium surcharges to pay for abortion"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Update 5\/14\/2025<\/strong>: On Tuesday, Gov. Wes Moore signed<\/a> a bill that makes Maryland the first state in the nation to use money collected from a surcharge on insurance plans sold under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to fund abortions. The money will come from the transfer of certain insurance premium funds collected by insurance carriers that can only be used for abortion payments in accordance with the ACA.<\/p>\n

According to the Associated Press<\/a>, a one-dollar surcharge<\/a> has been applied to ACA insurance plans but has remained unused for the last 15 years. The law will make about $25 million immediately available to fund abortions when it goes into effect on July 1 and is estimated to make about $3 million available in future years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lieutenant governor and I were very clear from Day 1 \u2014 that Maryland will always be a safe haven for abortion access,\u201d Moore said. Though Maryland may be the first state to approve such a law, New York and Illinois are ready to follow its lead, with state leaders already contacting Maryland officials for tips.<\/p>\n

Del. Lesley Lopez, one of the sponsors of the Maryland bill, shared the hope that other states will copy Maryland. “If programs like ours are duplicated across the country, we could help millions of Americans access essential abortion care \u2014 without relying on taxpayer dollars.”<\/p>\n

But Americans would still be funding abortions.<\/p>\n

3\/21\/2025<\/strong>: The Maryland Senate has approved a bill<\/a> that would use money collected from insurance surcharges to fund abortions in the state. If passed, it would make Maryland the first state<\/em> to use the $1 surcharge collected from insurance plans sold through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to pay for the killing of preborn children.<\/p>\n

Senate Bill 848<\/a> was passed Monday, following a similar bill<\/a> introduced by Lesley J. Lopez in the House of Delegates. Though both passed, the two bills will have to be reconciled before being sent to Governor Wes Moore\u2019s desk to be signed into law.<\/p>\n

Though the $1 surcharge is not new, it has not yet been used, leading to $25 million in money currently not allocated for anything. With these bills, it will now be used solely to pay for abortions, with Budget and Tax Committee Chair Guy Guzzone testifying<\/a> that it’s a good use of the money.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably pretty unusual for you to see me here on an abortion bill \u2014 because I\u2019m just the numbers guy. I just do budget,\u201d he said. \u201cBut this is about money. I was interested in the fact that it\u2019s about some money that\u2019s sort of locked up right now.\u201d<\/p>\n