Nevada is joining the list of states using Medicaid to pay for more abortions
LAS VEGAS — Nevada plans to become the 18th state to use Medicaid funds to expand abortion access for lower-income women.
The change is a result of a court ruling That became official this week after the state legislature declined to file an appeal within 30 days of the publication of a written opinion in the case, which ruled that the denial of coverage violated equal rights protections adopted by the state’s voters in 2022. Nevada officials have not said when coverage will begin, but the judge said it should be no later than early November.
“Nevadans who receive Medicaid for health insurance no longer have to fear that they will be forced to become pregnant against their will,” Rebecca Chan, an attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, which filed the lawsuit, said in a statement.
Since the US Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade in 2022 and ended abortion rights nationwide, the issue has been a legal and political battleground. Most Republican-controlled states have enacted bans or restrictions, including 14 that now ban abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with some exceptions, and another four that generally ban it after about the first six weeks of pregnancy. Most Democratic-led states have taken steps to protect access.
Nevada, with a Republican governor and a Democratic-controlled legislature, has protected access. Voters in November will consider enshrining abortion rights in the state constitution; if passed, a second vote would take place in 2026.
In addition to whether a state bans or restricts abortion, an important factor in its availability is whether the state pays for abortions for people with health insurance through Medicaid, the joint state-federal program for low-income people.
Under a 1977 law, federal funds are prohibited from paying for abortions except in cases of rape, incest, and when abortion is necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman. But states can use their allocations to pay for abortions in other circumstances.
The Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that advocates for abortion rights, says most also follow federal law for state funds, or they do so but with a few additional exceptions.
Only 17 of them pay for abortions without restrictions. Nine of them are court-ordered and eight cover abortions voluntarily.
KFF, a nonprofit that researches health care issues, says that about a third of women ages 15 to 49 live in states where abortion is not illegal, but where Medicaid covers abortion in limited circumstances. And about one in five women in those states has Medicaid coverage. Those with Medicaid are disproportionately low-income, Native American and Black.