(LA) House Panel Votes to Outlaw LA Insurers from Covering Elective Abortion

Keying off a provision in the recently enacted federal health care overhaul, the House Insurance Committee today voted to bar Louisiana insurers from including elective abortion coverage in any new policies they write.

House Bill 1247 by Rep. Frank Hoffman, R-West Monroe, would not overrule existing policies. A remaining point of debate is the definition of "elective." Hoffman's bill, which now moves to the House floor, classifies "non-elective" only as procedures necessary to preserve the life of the mother.

But the committee heard testimony today from physicians and women's health advocates who said that it is unreasonable not to allow coverage for the termination of pregnancies when a doctor has advised the mother that a fetus has no chance of survival. Health Secretary Alan Levine, who backs the legislation, said he would like to work with Hoffman to refine the "elective" definition before the lower chamber hears the bill, probably next week.

"It makes sense what the doctors said that a woman's mental health and total health can be affected negatively by seeing the baby" carried to full term only to be still born or die shortly after birth, Levine said.

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/04/house_panel_votes_to_outlaw_lo.html