A state House panel has decided not to add controversial abortion language to a proposed overhaul of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.
As The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Jake Neher reports, some Republican lawmakers still wanted to include a provision that torpedoed the legislation in December.
The language would bar insurance companies from offering coverage for elective abortions in employee health plans. Women who want the coverage would have to buy it as a separate rider.
House Insurance Committee Chair Pete Lund says he supports the abortion measure. But he says he didn’t want to risk killing the Blue Cross bills again.
“I hope we can get that issue resolved somewhere down the line," he says. "But as of now, it’s just not in the bill.”
Lund says it doesn’t seem likely lawmakers will try to add the abortion language on the House floor.
Governor Rick Snyder vetoed the Blue Cross overhaul in December because of similar language. Since then, the abortion measure has been introduced as a stand-alone bill.