Can Community Health Centers Fill The Health Care Void Left By Defunding Planned Parenthood?

House Speaker Paul Ryan has stated that the House bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), like its 2016 Congressional predecessor vetoed by President Obama, will include a provision that excludes certain providers that furnish abortions (other than those permitted under the Hyde Amendment) from the Medicaid program. Not only would such providers be excluded for family planning services; their exclusion would extend to the full range of Medicaid-covered services furnished in primary and preventive settings, such as breast and cervical cancer screening, mammograms, diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, and care management. Although it is not named explicitly, Planned Parenthood is the focus of the measure. Over the past several years, 12 states have attempted to remove Planned Parenthood from participation in publicly funded health programs in order to starve the organization. Because federal courts have turned back state-level Medicaid defunding efforts on Medicaid statutory grounds, and because the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also has declared such state efforts contrary to the federal law itself, Congress is now poised to make exclusion the law of the land. How Would States Fill The Void? Despite the health benefits and cost savings that flow from family planning, there can be little doubt that withdrawal of federal funding from excluded providers will adversely affect access to care. Through Medicaid, the federal government pays for ...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Costs and Spending Featured Organization and Delivery Population Health Quality Community Health Centers Congress Paul Ryan Planned Parenthood Primary Care Republicans Women's Health Source Type: blogs