WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Republicans working on high-stakes health care legislation are anticipating problems with abortion restrictions that their House counterparts have already passed.
As a result, they’re considering ways to channel new financing for health insurance through existing government programs that bar the use of taxpayer dollars for abortion, according to sources familiar with the policy discussions. Those options include the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
The sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of closely held discussions about a Senate version of the health care bill. GOP aides said nothing has been resolved. Republican leaders are pressing for a Senate vote on health care, which could come before the July 4 holiday.
Senate GOP leaders want their bill to bar federal funds for abortions. Failure to include such restrictions would jeopardize support from conservative Republican senators, whose votes will be needed for passage.
Disputes about how to handle abortion coverage almost sank former President Barack Obama’s health care law, and now it looks like the thorny issue may complicate GOP efforts to unravel the 2010 Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare.”