Free Republic

All insurers in Illinois will now be required to cover induced abortions, thanks to a new bill signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker. This week, Pritzker held a signing ceremony for the Birth Equity Initiative, which mandates that Illinois-based health insurance, both private and Medicaid, must cover abortion with no co-pays or deductibles. The ceremony came on the heels of neighboring state Iowa’s law protecting nearly all preborn children from abortion taking effect, which lawmakers appeared to present as a reason for the bill’s passage. “Iowa is now the 22nd state in the nation to enact an extreme abortion ban solidifying...

-County employees would participate in pilot program- Travis County's top officials may decide today to offer weight-loss surgery to county employees, a step that is unusual but becoming increasingly popular with local governments. Under the pilot program being considered, the county would pay for up to 15 bariatric surgeries — or trimmings of the digestive tract — per year. The program would last five years. Each procedure would cost the county $15,000 to $25,000, according to reports to the county commissioners, who will decide whether to adopt the program. Employees would have to meet requirements to be eligible, including a...