Lankford Leads Congressional Effort to Expose Federal Subsidies for Obamacare Plans Covering Elective Abortions

GAO Report: Taxpayers bankrolled Obamacare health insurance plans covering elective abortions for 4.4 million individuals in 2026 WASHINGTON, DC — US Senator James Lankford (R-OK), chairman of the Senate Values Action Team, led the congressional effort to request a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that found 1,719 Obamacare plans covering an estimated 4.4 million individuals include elective abortion coverage in 2026, renewing calls to reissue the Separate Payment Rule. The report comes as Congress marks the 50th anniversary of the Hyde Amendment on September 30, highlighting the need to ensure its longstanding protections against federal taxpayer funding of elective abortion apply to Obamacare plans. “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,” said Lankford. “The GAO findings confirm concerns we have raised for years about Obamacare and the Hyde Amendment. The accounting gimmick used in Obamacare does not protect Americans who have a moral objection to paying for the taking of a child’s life through elective abortion. As we approach 50 years of Hyde, this Administration should make sure its protections apply to Obamacare plans and restore the Separate Payment Rule so Americans know what their health plan covers.” The GAO report was requested by Lankford and House and Senate majority leadership, the co-chairs of the House and Senate Congressional Pro-Life Caucuses and Values Action Teams, and the chairmen of the House and Senate committees of jurisdiction. The report found that 1,719 Affordable Care Act (ACA) Qualified Health Plans (QHPs) covering non-excepted abortion services were available in 2026 to an estimated 4.4 million individuals. The report also found that 683 more abortion-covering QHPs were available through the ACA than when GAO issued a similar brief in 2014. Joining Lankford in signing the GAO request letter: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA-04); Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD); House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA-01); Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, M.D. (R-WY); House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN-06); House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-MI-09); House Pro-Life Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ-04), Rep. Andy Harris, M.D. (R-MD-01), Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-MN-07), Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL-03), and Rep. Bob Onder (R-MO-03); Senate Pro-Life Caucus Chairwoman Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS); House Values Action Team Chairman Robert Aderholt (R-AL-04); Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID); Senate HELP Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA); House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY-02); and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO-08). Background Lankford has led efforts in Congress to prevent taxpayer dollars from supporting abortion and to enforce the Affordable Care Act’s separate payment requirements. In 2021, Lankford led a group of senators in urging the Biden Administration to withdraw its proposed rule that would have eliminated the Trump Administration’s separate billing requirements for abortion coverage in ACA exchange plans. In 2022, Lankford and Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith introduced a Congressional Review Act resolution to block the Administration’s final rule allowing combined payments for abortion coverage and health care. The Separate Payment Rule , issued in 2019, requires insurers to collect separate payments for elective abortion coverage and the rest of an ACA plan’s premium, implementing the separate payment requirement established by Congress in Section 1303 of the Affordable Care Act. Lankford has continued to call for enforcement of the rule to ensure transparency and prevent taxpayer dollars from supporting abortion coverage. Lankford, who chairs the Senate Values Action Team, has made protecting life, preventing taxpayer funding of abortion, and protecting conscience rights central to his work in the Senate. In 2026, he has continued to lead Senate efforts on pro-life legislation and has highlighted the importance of the Hyde Amendment and its prohibition on federal funding for abortions. ###