Dive Brief:
- The Department of Health and Human Services has informed Alabama and Louisiana that their actions to block Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood may conflict with federal law.
- HHS has reinterated that states cannot exclude providers from Medicaid based on the medical services they provide, but says states can exclude providers for reasons including fraud or criminal acts.
- The question of legal basis for exclusion will come into play now, as antiabortion activists circulate their sixth recent video sparking concerns about the organization's alleged methods for obtaining fetal tissue for medical research.
Dive Insight:
The backlash against Planned Parenthood doesn't stop at Alabama and Louisiana. New Hampshire is now blocking state funding, which is not subject to federal oversight, and Planned Parenthood says it is expecting possible action to block funding in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
If all other resolutions fail and states are found to be in violation of federal law, they could lose federal Medicaid funds to the state.
Supporters of Planned Parenthood note that blocking funding to the organization would not only prevent women from accessing family planning services and birth control, but services including breast and cervical cancer screenings, as well as testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.