Nonprofit funds bridge access gaps for low-income people seeking abortions in Connecticut, according to recent research by students at Trinity College.
The findings show that more than 80% of the 969 respondents to an anonymous survey reported they delayed abortions due to costs.
The research project, conducted in partnership with the REACH Fund of Connecticut, a group that funds clinics to pay for abortion care, found that uninsured people almost always had a delay to get an abortion due to financial reasons.
Findings showed 83% of Medicaid patients that were surveyed, and about 76% of people with private insurance, also reported delays — in some cases a month or longer.
“The longer you wait, the more it's going to cost,” said Alyce Coleman, board president of the REACH Fund. “Abortion pills work up to 10 to 12 weeks, and then it's going to be a more complicated procedure.”
Planned Parenthood reports the average price for an in-clinic abortion at one of its facilities is about $600 in the first trimester, and rises to $2,000 or more later in the second trimester.
Those costs can rise as high as $20,000, Coleman said.
The REACH-Trinity project called for greater funding for abortion access and related costs, such as transportation, childcare and support for lost wages.
Jasmine Winters, lead community engagement coordinator at The Women's Centers, and patient advocate for Women's Centers in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennysylvannia, said although Connecticut’s Medicaid system covers abortion services at Connecticut clinics, patients can still face out-of-pocket costs in cases involving telehealth services, private providers, travel, delayed appointments or other logistical complications.
“As the cost of housing, groceries and gas continues to strain household budgets, we see patients every day who simply don’t have room for an unexpected medical expense," Winters said.
Winters added that more than 100,000 people in Connecticut could lose Medicaid coverage under new federal work requirements.
“We’re deeply concerned that even more patients will face financial barriers to care," Winters said. "At a time when families are already struggling to make ends meet, protecting access to affordable abortion care has never been more important.”
