FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is asking Maryland to rescind its “Public Health Abortion Grant Program,” which used Affordable Care Act funds to pay for abortions.

President Donald Trump’s CMS informed the Maryland insurance commissioner that the Public Health Abortion Grant Program exceeds what the Affordable Care Act allows for the use of those funds, according to a letter obtained by The Daily Signal.

Section 1303 of the Affordable Care Act prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or if life of the mother is endangered. But the statute allows private insurance plans to cover abortion if the federal subsidies are kept completely separate from abortion coverage.

Enrollees pay at least $1 per month out of pocket into a separate account designated for abortion coverage.

CMS formally requested that Maryland rescind implementation of the Public Health Abortion Grant Program, which gives grants to “providers and abortion funds that provide services to individuals who cannot use their insurance for abortion care or face other coverage gaps, such as people who are under- or uninsured, young people, and those enrolled in plans with abortion restrictions (such as religious employer-sponsored plans, etc.)”

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed a bill into law last May establishing the abortion grant program. The law says that if CMS advises the state that the law violates Section 1303 of the Affordable Care Act on or before June 30, 2031, the “law will be of no further force and effect.”

CMS has determined that the law “exceeds the permissible use for these funds under Section 1303 of the ACA,” so the state will be required to end the program. Maryland Insurance Commissioner Marie Grant confirmed that she has received the letter.

The law made about $25 million available for abortions on July 1 because the $1 surcharge has grown since the ACA took effect in 2010. But Maryland estimated that it would be able to make about $3 million available annually for abortions in future years.

Maryland was the first state to allocate ACA-segregated funds toward abortions.

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