Eliminating Abortion from Medicaid

H.B. 5458 of 1996
P.A. 124 of 1996
MCL 400.109 d&e
Sponsor: Rep. Michelle McManus

Effective Date: March 13, 1996

This law closed an enforcement “loophole” in the 1987 law banning Medicaid funding for abortion. Some services related to performing an abortion can also be part of legitimate and routine obstetric care. Some abortionists were charging medicaid for most of the abortion procedure by billing separately for part of the abortion services, such as an ultrasound. This law holds that any practice of separating or unbundling services directly related to the performance of an abortion for the purposes of seeking medicaid reimbursement is an inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars.

This law should not be construed to affect diagnostic testing or other non-abortion procedures. Only physicians who actually perform abortions, and particularly those who perform abortions but do not provide prenatal care or obstetric services should view themselves as potentially affected. Unacceptable requests for reimbursements include those services which would not have been performed, but for the preparation and performance of a planned or requested abortion.

Eliminating Medicaid Abortion Coverage in 1987

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