Starting Jan. 1, 2025, Minnesota health insurance plans must provide coverage for abortion and “abortion-related services.”
Authorized last session by Democrats in control of Minnesota state government, the new provision was part of a nearly 1,500-page bill that regulated dozens of topics and was passed as time ran out on the 2024 legislative session.
Under current law, health insurance companies are only required to cover abortion in certain circumstances. However, this change to state law requires health insurance companies to cover elective abortions.
Private businesses and organizations with religious objections to offering abortion coverage to their employees can request an exemption. To do so, eligible organizations must send a request to their health insurance company that specifically asks for the abortion coverage to be excluded. Organizations that request the exemptions must also inform their employees.
According to the new law, the Minnesota Department of Commerce is responsible for reimbursing insurance companies for coverage related to abortion. In addition, the law appropriates a non-specific amount of taxpayer dollars to the Department of Commerce to pay for the reimbursements.
“Each fiscal year, an amount necessary to make payments to health plan companies to defray the cost of providing coverage under this section is appropriated to the commissioner of commerce,” states the law.
As such, Minnesota taxpayers will be paying for the abortion coverage.
Alpha News recently obtained billing information from a HealthPartners policyholder that provides further details on this matter.
“Federal law requires that we notify you that your monthly premium bill will include a separate charge for abortion and abortion-related services for which federal funding is prohibited,” says the billing document. “However, we will not charge you a separate premium for these services because the Minnesota Department of Commerce is paying for that portion of the premium.”
This statement appears to indicate that insurance companies are not making policyholders pay for the abortion coverage because the Department of Commerce is reimbursing the insurance companies for the mandated coverage with taxpayer dollars.
Alpha News has reached out to the Minnesota Department of Commerce and HealthPartners with questions for this story.
The Department of Commerce responded by directing Alpha News to a legislative report that was issued before the new law was established.
HealthPartners did not respond to our request for comment.
Minnesota law mandates unlimited abortion access
In January 2023, Gov. Tim Walz signed the Protect Reproductive Options Act (PRO Act) which established abortion as a “fundamental right” in Minnesota. That law does not impose any gestational limits on abortion.
This means that abortions can be legally performed at any point during pregnancy, including up to 40 weeks.
Furthermore, separate legislation passed in 2023 ended requirements that abortion providers report when a child is born alive during an attempted abortion. Additionally, the same law allows physicians to refuse life-saving care to infants born after attempted abortions.
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
