Increasing Access to Reproductive Choice

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Abortion Coverage for Providence Health Plan Members in Washington State

The Increasing Access to Reproductive Choice service was established to ensure people with state-regulated health insurance have equitable access to all state-required benefits.

Washington State recognizes that all people have the right to choose or refuse to have an abortion and requires state-regulated health plans that provide maternity benefits to provide coverage for abortions. The State also requires Health Benefit Exchange plans to provide maternity benefits (which means they must also provide abortion benefits).

Beginning January 2020, Providence Health Plan entered the state health insurance market. They offer Health Benefit Exchange plans in several counties and large group plans throughout the state.

Providence Health Plans invoked a religious objection and do not cover most abortion-related services.

To ensure equitable access to essential services, the Department of Health will pay for abortion services for people with Providence Health Plans that originate in Washington state. These include Columbia 1500 Gold, Columbia 4500 Silver, Columbia 8550 Bronze.

For people enrolled in Providence Health Plans

We will pay for your abortion services if you have Providence Health Plan coverage that originates in Washington State and receive services from a provider who agrees to accept reimbursement from us.

You will have financial responsibility for your abortion care unless and until your provider submits the department-approved claim form to us for that care. Some organizations guarantee that they will submit claims to the department. They are listed in the next section.

You can choose to receive abortion services from any provider. The department will pay for those services through the method and at the rates described in the For Providers section below. Your provider is not required to submit a claim or accept department payment unless they have a contract with us, but any provider can choose to submit a claim.

If you receive abortion services from a provider in the list below, there will be no cost to you. These providers have contracts with the Department of Health.
If you receive abortion services from any other provider, you have full financial responsibility for all services received, unless and until your provider submits a claim using the departments’s claim form. Once your provider submits the appropriate claim form, your financial responsibility is removed and there will be no cost to you.

Organizations that guarantee abortion services at no cost to eligible clients

The following organizations will provide abortion services to all eligible clients at no cost to the client.

Cedar River Clinics, 800-572-4223 (Renton, Seattle and Tacoma)
Equinox Primary Care PLLC, 206-388-3515, (Seattle and telemedicine statewide)
Planned Parenthood of the Columbia Willamette, 888-875-7820 (Vancouver, Washington & Beaverton, Bend, Milwaukie-Oak Grove, Portland and Salem, Oregon)
Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho, 800-230-7526 (Ellensburg, Kennewick, Moses Lake, Pasco, Pullman, Spokane, Sunnyside, Walla Walla, Wenatchee, and Yakima)
Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands, 800-769-0045 (Bellevue, Bremerton, Centralia, Everett, Federal Way, Lynnwood, Marysville, Olympia, Port Angeles, Puyallup, Tacoma, and Seattle)

We will add to this list as we finalize contracts with other organizations.

For healthcare providers

If you would like to contract with the Department of Health and be added to the list of providers above, email [email protected].

Whether you have a contract or not, the department will reimburse you for providing abortion services to eligible clients—people covered through Providence Health Plans that originate in Washington state. Our Abortion Coverage Claim Form (Excel) includes more information about verifying client eligibility.

Providers may submit claims by:

Downloading the Abortion Coverage Claim Form (Excel)
Reviewing the terms of reimbursement described in red text at the bottom of the form. By submitting this form to the department you are agreeing to these terms
Filling in the yellow-shaded sections of the form
Submitting the form to us by fax or email as described at the top left of the form
We will typically pay within 30 days

Email us at [email protected] if you have questions. Do not include any individually identifiable client information in the email.

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