{"id":8977,"date":"2026-03-20T09:00:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T14:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/20\/hhs-to-investigate-13-states-that-require-insurers-to-cover-abortions\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T09:00:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T14:00:02","slug":"hhs-to-investigate-13-states-that-require-insurers-to-cover-abortions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/20\/hhs-to-investigate-13-states-that-require-insurers-to-cover-abortions\/","title":{"rendered":"HHS to investigate 13 states that require insurers to cover abortions"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The
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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is arguing that 13 states requiring insurers to cover abortion are in violation of federal law. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda\/States Newsroom)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday announced an investigation into 13 states that require health insurance plans to cover abortion care.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a\u00a0news release<\/a>, the agency said the investigation is based on allegations that the states are coercing health care entities to provide coverage of abortion \u201ccontrary to conscience\u201d and in violation of a federal law known as the Weldon Amendment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOCR launches these investigations to address certain states\u2019 alleged disregard of, or confusion about, compliance with the Weldon Amendment,\u201d said Paula Stannard, director of the HHS Office for Civil Rights in a statement. \u201cUnder the Weldon Amendment, health care entities, such as health insurance issuers and health plans, are protected from state discrimination for not paying for, or providing coverage of, abortion contrary to conscience. Period.\u201d<\/p>\n

But reproductive rights advocates say it is a tactic to make abortion harder to access in states that have fortified protections.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAt a time when abortion care is getting harder and harder to access, we are deeply concerned that the few states that have taken steps to protect access are now under attack,\u201d said Katie O\u2019Connor, senior director of federal abortion policy at the National Women\u2019s Law Center, in a written statement. \u201cThese investigations also follow a familiar pattern from the administration: attacking states that the president views as political threats.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, HHS\u2019 Office for Civil Rights\u00a0clarified<\/a> the Trump administration would interpret the Weldon Amendment to allow employers and insurance plan sponsors to opt out of covering or paying for abortions because of their personal beliefs, contradicting the\u00a0Biden administration\u2019s interpretation<\/a>. The agency\u00a0sent a letter<\/a> to top officials in Illinois in January, alleging violations of the Weldon Amendment and the Coats-Snowe Amendment. The latter prohibits governments from discriminating against health care entities as it relates to abortion training or participation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The agency did not specify the states being investigated, but\u00a0the Washington Post reports<\/a> that states with abortion-related coverage requirements are: California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington, which all have Democratic governors except for Vermont.\u00a0<\/p>\n

States defended their laws and criticized the probe as political, following the announcement.<\/p>\n

\u201cDonald Trump\u2019s latest \u2018investigation\u2019 is nothing but a fishing expedition wasting taxpayers\u2019 money,\u201d said New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, the\u00a0New Jersey Monitor<\/a> reported.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Vermont Department of Financial Regulation said it is reviewing the federal government\u2019s notice and working with other state agencies to prepare a response.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDFR does not believe that it has unlawfully coerced or discriminated against any insurer related to the coverage of abortions as outlined in the (federal government\u2019s) request,\u201d Commissioner Kaj Samsom told the\u00a0VT Digger<\/a>. \u201cWe stand firmly behind the law in question and the protections and choice it provides Vermonters.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Heritage Foundation floated the proposal to withhold Medicaid funding for states in violation of the Weldon Amendment in its controversial presidential administration blueprint\u00a0Project 2025<\/a>, which President Donald Trump\u00a0disavowed<\/a> during his campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

This story was originally produced by News From The States<\/a>, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Missouri Independent, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is arguing that 13 states requiring insurers to cover abortion are in violation of federal law. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda\/States Newsroom) The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday announced an investigation into 13 states that require health insurance plans to cover abortion care.\u00a0 In…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8978,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nHHS to investigate 13 states that require insurers to cover abortions - WestplexNews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/20\/hhs-to-investigate-13-states-that-require-insurers-to-cover-abortions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"HHS to investigate 13 states that require insurers to cover abortions - WestplexNews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is arguing that 13 states requiring insurers to cover abortion are in violation of federal law. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda\/States Newsroom) The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday announced an investigation into 13 states that require health insurance plans to cover abortion care.\u00a0 In...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/20\/hhs-to-investigate-13-states-that-require-insurers-to-cover-abortions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"WestplexNews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-20T14:00:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/missouriindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/hhsfour-1024x768.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brad Hildebrand\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brad Hildebrand\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/20\/hhs-to-investigate-13-states-that-require-insurers-to-cover-abortions\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/20\/hhs-to-investigate-13-states-that-require-insurers-to-cover-abortions\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Brad Hildebrand\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/86ac6e2a917ca881b22f6d55d1b955f0\"},\"headline\":\"HHS to investigate 13 states that require insurers to cover abortions\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-20T14:00:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/20\/hhs-to-investigate-13-states-that-require-insurers-to-cover-abortions\/\"},\"wordCount\":580,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/20\/hhs-to-investigate-13-states-that-require-insurers-to-cover-abortions\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/hhsfour-1024x768-neaJCv.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/20\/hhs-to-investigate-13-states-that-require-insurers-to-cover-abortions\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/20\/hhs-to-investigate-13-states-that-require-insurers-to-cover-abortions\/\",\"name\":\"HHS to investigate 13 states that require insurers to cover abortions - 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