Research suggests women living in states with abortion bans bear higher health insurance costs

New preliminary research from the University of Michigan, funded by the Center for Reproductive Rights, finds women in states with post-Dobbs abortion bans saw a 5.4% increase in out-of-pocket health insurance premium costs after 2022. The effect was sharper for Black and Hispanic women, at 12.8% and 13.7% respectively, and wasn't present among men.

The study compared ten ban states against five states without bans, using Census Bureau survey data, and excluded states that expanded Medicaid during the period to isolate the bans' effect. Researchers say pregnancies that might once have ended in abortion are now becoming deliveries with higher complication rates, costs insurers appear to be passing to beneficiaries through premiums.

The study hasn't been peer-reviewed yet, and its authors describe the findings as suggestive rather than conclusive, but they note the pattern lines up with prior research showing bans are associated with worse maternal and infant outcomes.

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