One year later, new data indicate that those concerns were well-founded. Alaska’s annual abortion report for 2016 shows a sharp increase in both the number and percentage of abortions funded by Medicaid. Total numbers of Medicaid-funded abortions rose from 438 abortions in 2015 to 556 in 2016 — a 27 percent increase. In 2015, Medicaid paid for 33 percent of abortions carried out in the state. By the end of 2016, more than 44 percent of all abortions in Alaska were covered by Medicaid and thus paid for by taxpayers. Public funds covered over 100 more abortions in 2016 than in 2015, even though the overall incidence of abortion slightly decreased over the same period.
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