Abbott Administration Puts Health Care Access in Limbo for Texans During the Worst Stretch of a Pandemic

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 -- The Planned Parenthood Federation of America issued the following news release on Dec. 17:

Planned Parenthood is calling on Gov. Greg Abbott to maintain critical health care access for people with low incomes in Texas after the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order that could allow the state to "defund" Planned Parenthood. This is the latest in a five-year legal battle stemming from Gov. Abbott's 2015 attempt to block Medicaid patients from getting care at Planned Parenthood health centers in Texas. The federal district court stepped in to prevent this from happening. Then right before Thanksgiving, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling that gave Gov. Abbott permission to continue his attack. During legal battles over the last five years, Planned Parenthood affiliates have continued to serve thousands of patients through the Medicaid program each year, without incident or complaints from the Abbott administration.

Earlier this week, Planned Parenthood affiliates in Texas asked the Abbott administration for time to allow providers time to care for their patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and connect them with new providers. Without this grace period, patients who rely on Planned Parenthood for preventive health care would be abandoned during the pandemic and abruptly left scrambling to find care in an already-overloaded Medicaid system.

During the most devastating public health crisis Texas has faced in a century, Planned Parenthood is calling on the Abbott administration to halt its efforts to dismantle health care for the most vulnerable Texans. This worsens the dual public health crises -- systemic racism and COVID-19 -- that disproportionately harm women and people of color who rely on programs like Medicaid. Blocking Medicaid patients from accessing basic health care at Planned Parenthood health centers would be devastating for the more than 8,000 Texans who rely on Planned Parenthood each year for high-quality, affordable services, including birth control, life-saving cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, and more.

Excerpt of remark from Dr. Bhavik Kumar, medical director for primary and trans care, Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast:

Excerpt of remark from Vanessa Rodriguez, call center manager, Planned Parenthood Greater Texas:

Excerpt of remark from Jeffrey Hons, president & CEO, Planned Parenthood South Texas:

Excerpt of remark from Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO, Planned Parenthood Federation of America:

Governor Abbott's attempts to block Medicaid patients from getting care at the Planned Parenthood providers was the latest in a long history of Texas' attempts to score political points with relentless attacks on Planned Parenthood patients. And during the 2019 legislative session, Texas politicians passed Senate Bill 22 -- banning local governments from partnerships with expert providers, such as Planned Parenthood, for health care and education services.

Numerous other states have tried to terminate Planned Parenthood providers from Medicaid for baseless reasons, but most have been blocked by courts from doing so.

Generations of racist and discriminatory policies force a disproportionate number of people of color and women to enroll in public health programs like Medicaid. When politicians attack Medicaid patients, people of color and women -- who already navigate inherently discriminatory systems with fewer freedoms than others -- lose the ability to choose the provider best for them. It's just one more assault against the same communities that face unjust, systemic barriers to basic human rights, including access to affordable health care, education, and housing.

This imminent threat to comprehensive health care access for Medicaid patients follows years of attempts by Texas to cut off Medicaid patients from Planned Parenthood based on a series of elaborate, false, and debunked claims peddled by the Center for Medical Progress. In 2011, Texas replaced the federal-backed Medicaid family planning program with its own state-funded program when the Obama administration refused to allow the Texas to exclude Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers from its Medicaid program. Earlier this year, the Trump administration allowed federal funds to go back into Texas' failed program, which is serving 39 percent fewer women and merely a fraction of the millions who critically need reproductive health care.