SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Judge Stops Texas From Cutting Medicaid Funds for Planned Parenthood
Injunction blocks years-long state effort to cut funding for Planned Parenthood clinics
Feb 22, 2017
A federal judge on Tuesday halted Texas' attempt to cut Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood clinics in a scathing decision that found the state "likely acted to disenroll qualified healthcare providers from Medicaid without cause."
"Such action would deprive Medicaid patients of their statutory right to obtain healthcare from their chosen qualified provider," wrote District Judge Sam Sparks of Austin in his decision (pdf) in favor of a preliminary injunction against the state.
The injunction is just the latest chapter in an ongoing saga stemming from controversial anti-abortion videos released in 2015 by right-wing activists. (The activists were indicted by a Texas grand jury, which also cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing, in 2016.)
The state of Texas began the process of blocking Planned Parenthood from Medicaid funds after the videos came out back in October 2015, even though the state's 30 participating clinics provide reproductive healthcare and cancer screenings, and not abortions, notes the Texas Tribune.
For reasons that are unclear, the state waited until December 2016 to send the clinics a final notice of the plan to disenroll them from Medicaid. Planned Parenthood had sued Texas to put a stop to the plans that would strip 12,500 women of their access to healthcare.
Sparks had sharp words for the state's actions in his decision, in which he observed that the state failed to provide "any evidence" of its allegations against Planned Parenthood:
A secretly recorded video, fake names, a grand jury indictment, congressional investigations--these are the building blocks of a best-selling novel rather than a case concerning the interplay of federal and state authority through the Medicaid program. Yet, rather than a villain plotting to take over the world, the subject of this case is the State of Texas's efforts to expel a group of healthcare providers from a social healthcare program for families and individuals with limited resources.
Stalling for nearly a year after issuing an initial notice of termination, HHSC [the Health and Human Services Commission] reinitiated its efforts to terminate Planned Parenthood healthcare providers from the Texas Medicaid program. Following extensive investigations, the Inspector General's reasons for termination constituted unsubstantiated and indeterminate allegations, including a "policy of agreeing to" and a "willingness" to violate medical and ethical standards. Without any evidence indicating an actual program violation warranting termination, the Inspector General nevertheless acted to terminate one of the Provider plaintiffs from the Texas Medicaid program and sought to terminate the other Provider Plaintiffs by extension. After reviewing the evidence currently in the record, the Court finds the Inspector General, and thus HHSC, likely acted to disenroll qualified healthcare providers from Medicaid without cause. Such action would deprive Medicaid patients of their statutory right to obtain healthcare from their chosen qualified provider. The deprivation of that right is an irreparable injury in and of itself but could also disrupt the care of the 12,500 Texas Medicaid patients receiving services from Planned Parenthood.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, has vowed to appeal Sparks' decision.
Yvonne Gutierrez, executive director for Planned Parenthood Texas Votes, said in a statement that the group "will fight tooth and nail to protect access to healthcare for all Texans," the Texas Tribune reported.
Sparks' decision came on the same day that Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, vetoed a bill that would have cut Medicaid funds for Planned Parenthood clinics.
The day's victories for reproductive rights come as emboldened anti-choice Republicans push on the state and federal levels to drastically cut women's access to healthcare.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
A federal judge on Tuesday halted Texas' attempt to cut Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood clinics in a scathing decision that found the state "likely acted to disenroll qualified healthcare providers from Medicaid without cause."
"Such action would deprive Medicaid patients of their statutory right to obtain healthcare from their chosen qualified provider," wrote District Judge Sam Sparks of Austin in his decision (pdf) in favor of a preliminary injunction against the state.
The injunction is just the latest chapter in an ongoing saga stemming from controversial anti-abortion videos released in 2015 by right-wing activists. (The activists were indicted by a Texas grand jury, which also cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing, in 2016.)
The state of Texas began the process of blocking Planned Parenthood from Medicaid funds after the videos came out back in October 2015, even though the state's 30 participating clinics provide reproductive healthcare and cancer screenings, and not abortions, notes the Texas Tribune.
For reasons that are unclear, the state waited until December 2016 to send the clinics a final notice of the plan to disenroll them from Medicaid. Planned Parenthood had sued Texas to put a stop to the plans that would strip 12,500 women of their access to healthcare.
Sparks had sharp words for the state's actions in his decision, in which he observed that the state failed to provide "any evidence" of its allegations against Planned Parenthood:
A secretly recorded video, fake names, a grand jury indictment, congressional investigations--these are the building blocks of a best-selling novel rather than a case concerning the interplay of federal and state authority through the Medicaid program. Yet, rather than a villain plotting to take over the world, the subject of this case is the State of Texas's efforts to expel a group of healthcare providers from a social healthcare program for families and individuals with limited resources.
Stalling for nearly a year after issuing an initial notice of termination, HHSC [the Health and Human Services Commission] reinitiated its efforts to terminate Planned Parenthood healthcare providers from the Texas Medicaid program. Following extensive investigations, the Inspector General's reasons for termination constituted unsubstantiated and indeterminate allegations, including a "policy of agreeing to" and a "willingness" to violate medical and ethical standards. Without any evidence indicating an actual program violation warranting termination, the Inspector General nevertheless acted to terminate one of the Provider plaintiffs from the Texas Medicaid program and sought to terminate the other Provider Plaintiffs by extension. After reviewing the evidence currently in the record, the Court finds the Inspector General, and thus HHSC, likely acted to disenroll qualified healthcare providers from Medicaid without cause. Such action would deprive Medicaid patients of their statutory right to obtain healthcare from their chosen qualified provider. The deprivation of that right is an irreparable injury in and of itself but could also disrupt the care of the 12,500 Texas Medicaid patients receiving services from Planned Parenthood.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, has vowed to appeal Sparks' decision.
Yvonne Gutierrez, executive director for Planned Parenthood Texas Votes, said in a statement that the group "will fight tooth and nail to protect access to healthcare for all Texans," the Texas Tribune reported.
Sparks' decision came on the same day that Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, vetoed a bill that would have cut Medicaid funds for Planned Parenthood clinics.
The day's victories for reproductive rights come as emboldened anti-choice Republicans push on the state and federal levels to drastically cut women's access to healthcare.
A federal judge on Tuesday halted Texas' attempt to cut Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood clinics in a scathing decision that found the state "likely acted to disenroll qualified healthcare providers from Medicaid without cause."
"Such action would deprive Medicaid patients of their statutory right to obtain healthcare from their chosen qualified provider," wrote District Judge Sam Sparks of Austin in his decision (pdf) in favor of a preliminary injunction against the state.
The injunction is just the latest chapter in an ongoing saga stemming from controversial anti-abortion videos released in 2015 by right-wing activists. (The activists were indicted by a Texas grand jury, which also cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing, in 2016.)
The state of Texas began the process of blocking Planned Parenthood from Medicaid funds after the videos came out back in October 2015, even though the state's 30 participating clinics provide reproductive healthcare and cancer screenings, and not abortions, notes the Texas Tribune.
For reasons that are unclear, the state waited until December 2016 to send the clinics a final notice of the plan to disenroll them from Medicaid. Planned Parenthood had sued Texas to put a stop to the plans that would strip 12,500 women of their access to healthcare.
Sparks had sharp words for the state's actions in his decision, in which he observed that the state failed to provide "any evidence" of its allegations against Planned Parenthood:
A secretly recorded video, fake names, a grand jury indictment, congressional investigations--these are the building blocks of a best-selling novel rather than a case concerning the interplay of federal and state authority through the Medicaid program. Yet, rather than a villain plotting to take over the world, the subject of this case is the State of Texas's efforts to expel a group of healthcare providers from a social healthcare program for families and individuals with limited resources.
Stalling for nearly a year after issuing an initial notice of termination, HHSC [the Health and Human Services Commission] reinitiated its efforts to terminate Planned Parenthood healthcare providers from the Texas Medicaid program. Following extensive investigations, the Inspector General's reasons for termination constituted unsubstantiated and indeterminate allegations, including a "policy of agreeing to" and a "willingness" to violate medical and ethical standards. Without any evidence indicating an actual program violation warranting termination, the Inspector General nevertheless acted to terminate one of the Provider plaintiffs from the Texas Medicaid program and sought to terminate the other Provider Plaintiffs by extension. After reviewing the evidence currently in the record, the Court finds the Inspector General, and thus HHSC, likely acted to disenroll qualified healthcare providers from Medicaid without cause. Such action would deprive Medicaid patients of their statutory right to obtain healthcare from their chosen qualified provider. The deprivation of that right is an irreparable injury in and of itself but could also disrupt the care of the 12,500 Texas Medicaid patients receiving services from Planned Parenthood.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, has vowed to appeal Sparks' decision.
Yvonne Gutierrez, executive director for Planned Parenthood Texas Votes, said in a statement that the group "will fight tooth and nail to protect access to healthcare for all Texans," the Texas Tribune reported.
Sparks' decision came on the same day that Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, vetoed a bill that would have cut Medicaid funds for Planned Parenthood clinics.
The day's victories for reproductive rights come as emboldened anti-choice Republicans push on the state and federal levels to drastically cut women's access to healthcare.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.