A Texas judge has officially denied Planned Parenthood’s request to be allowed to offer health services to low-income women in Texas through a state program. The result is that there are a lot of low-income women in Texas who now have no access to women’s health care. This is part of a long, long, story.
This all started in February of 2012, when Texas Health and Human Services Commissioner, Tom Seuhs, signed a law that was designed to specifically exclude Planned Parenthood from receiving any of the funding that is earmarked for the Medicaid Women’s Health Program (WHP). At the time, 90% of the money for the WHP came from the federal government. Texas was supplying 10% of the funding.
The Medicaid Women’s Health Program provided women’s preventative health care. It included cancer screenings, reproductive health care, and birth control. It was for low-income women who lived in Texas and who didn’t qualify for the main Medicaid program. More than 124,000 women were covered by WHP.
Planned Parenthood was the largest provider of women’s health care in Texas. They were specifically excluded by the new Texas law because of certain lawmaker’s concern that Planned Parenthood was affiliated with places that preformed abortions.
The result was that Texas lost the federal funding for the WHP program. This was because Texas was preventing women who were covered by WHP from being able to choose their own doctors. This meant that the federal funding – the 90% – was now gone. Texas decided to end the WHP and start its own state program that was similar.
There were differences, however. The state program is called the Texas Women’s Health Program It does not include coverage for emergency birth control. It does not provide abortions. It does provide family planning counseling and education, with a stipulation: “can include natural family planning and abstinence”.
Planned Parenthood sued the state of Texas. Things went back and forth and through different courts. The most recent case was decided by Texas District Judge Stephen Yelenosky, who issued a temporary ruling in favor of Planned Parenthood in November of 2012.
Recently, he denied Planned Parenthood’s request to be allowed to offer health services to low-income women through the Texas Women’s Health Program. The results of this decision are already being felt by low-income women in Texas.
The Center for Public Policy Priorities posted a blog titled: “Concerns Remain About State WHP Capacity”. It says:
The projected capacity appears optimistic, and it certainly has not been demonstrated at this point. Physicians are unlikely to add much capacity for several reasons including low reimbursement rates. Federally Qualified Health Centers have already said they cannot meet the needs of all women losing access to Planned Parenthood. Many safety net family planning clinics funded by DSHS that might normally be in a position to add capacity are still reeling from huge funding cuts, and some have closed down completely.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57563941/thousands-search-for-doctors-after-texas-planned-parenthood-ban-upheld/ did it’s own investigation of the situation. It started calling doctors and clinics that the Texas Women’s Health Program website identified as participating providers.
When CBS News randomly selected 25 in the Austin area and called, they found just four were participating in the program. Fifteen didn’t offer women’s health services at all.
Image by Tim Patterson on Flickr