U.S. Senator James Lankford is renewing calls for changes to how abortion coverage is handled in Affordable Care Act health insurance plans following the release of a new Government Accountability Office report.
The GAO found that 1,719 of the 6,655 qualified health plans offered through federal and state health insurance exchanges in 2026 covered what the agency calls “non-excepted abortion services.” An estimated 4.4 million people were enrolled in those plans.
The number of plans offering the coverage increased by 683 compared to a similar GAO review conducted in 2014.
Lankford was among congressional leaders who requested the latest GAO review.
“As suspected, we now know that millions of Americans are forced each year to pay for elective abortion coverage that they do not want or agree with,” Lankford said. “The GAO findings confirm concerns we have raised for years about Obamacare and the Hyde Amendment.”
Lankford is calling for the federal government to restore what is known as the Separate Payment Rule. The rule, issued in 2019, required insurers to collect separate payments for certain abortion coverage and the remainder of an ACA plan’s premium.
Federal law prohibits federal funds used to offset the cost of ACA health coverage from being used to pay for abortion services except in cases involving rape, incest or when the life of the pregnant woman is endangered. ACA plans can provide coverage for abortions outside those exceptions, subject to federal and state requirements.
Lankford argues the separate payment requirement provides greater transparency for people enrolled in plans that include abortion coverage.
