According to a study by Ushma Upadhyay of UC San Francisco published in January, 2014, the mean reimbursement from Medi-Cal for ‘medication’ (pill) abortions was $443. This compares with $411 for a first trimester aspiration abortion.

Second-trimester or later abortions cost the state a total of $514 reimbursement.

The figures come from a study done under the name of Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health, part of UC San Francisco’s Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health. Co-authors were Sheila Desai, Vera Zlidar, Tracy Weitz (Weitz was lead witness last year in the non-physician abortion bill, signed by Governor Brown in October), Daniel Grossman, M.D., Patricia Anderson, Diana Taylor.

One of the two main reasons for the study, laid out in power-point format, was to “provide evidence base to inform new abortion regulations.” Since the first of July, 2014, there are no longer any restrictions on abortions in California. Watch for this study to be used in testimony in red states, who are regulating abortions more each year. This is the subject of a subsequent slide in the power point, “Politicization of abortion complications.”

Another interesting fact in the power point is the breakdown of Medi-Cal abortions by type. Medical abortions (use of abortion pill) was 21 percent, first-trimester aspiration was 63%, second-trimester and later were 16%.

Ethnic break-down was 26% white, 15% black, 42.1 percent Hispanic.

Other conclusions of the report was that “Reimbursement likely does not reflect true provider costs” and “Reimbursements are substantially lower than national costs of abortion.”

These observations and others must be seen in light of UC San Francisco as the U.S. center of abortion advocacy.

Was this taxpayer-funded study used to increase California subsidies for killing the unborn? In mid-June all Medi-Cal reimbursements were cut 10 percent except for one area, which was increased 40% – reproductive services.

To read the entire ANSIRH power point, click here.