House Panel Advances Measure To Cut Off Planned Parents From Medicaid Funds
This story was originally reported by Grace Panetta of The 19th, and republished through Rewire News Group’s partnership with The 19th News Network.
A key House panel on Wednesday advanced legislation that includes a provision aimed at cutting off Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood, a longtime goal of congressional Republicans.
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which oversees health care as part of its wide-ranging portfolio, voted along party lines to approve its portion of congressional Republicans’ tax cut and spending bill, a cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s agenda. The health portion of the bill, which would also impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients, has drawn criticism and opposition from Democrats and abortion advocates.
“You know the saying, ‘women and children first’? For Republicans, women and children are pushed to the sidelines. This was stated by Democratic Senator Patty Murray in Washington at a news conference on Wednesday. Planned Parenthood, one of the biggest providers of family planning to low-income clients, is a major provider of services. One in 10 Medicaid recipients aged 15-49 who received family planning services went to a Planned Parenthood clinic in 2021, according to KFF, a nonpartisan health policy, research, and polling organization.
Federal funds allocated through programs like Medicaid and Title X are already prohibited from directly paying for abortions, except in limited cases. The bill is a move by congressional Republicans to prevent clinics that provide abortions from receiving Medicaid for other reproductive and family planning services. The language of the measure, while not addressing Planned Parenthood by name, is written as to apply only to the organization.
“Make no mistake, Planned Parenthood is being targeted,” Alexis McGill Johnson, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood, said at the news conference. Planned Parenthood receives Medicaid reimbursements for their services, just like any other healthcare provider. This is nothing more than an attempt to end abortion in the United States, and they are willing to take away birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, and more to do it.”
Democrats attempted to block the provision in committee during a marathon 26-hour session of weighing and voting on amendments. On Wednesday morning, Rep. Lizzie Fletcher of Texas, a member of the Energy and Commerce panel, put forth an amendment to strike the measure from the bill.
“Defunding Planned Parenthood is an assault on the health, freedom, and dignity of women across this country,” Fletcher said, citing her home state, which has seen increased maternal mortality rates, as a “cautionary tale” of what happens when women’s health services are cut.
Several Republican women on the committee spoke up in defense of the provision to cut off Planned Parenthood from Medicaid, which remained in the bill after members voted down several Democratic amendments to the health-care section, including Fletcher’s.
“In this bill, we’re not saying we’re outlawing abortion,” said GOP Rep. Erin Houchin of Indiana. We’re saying that taxpayer dollars shouldn’t be used to fund large abortions. The measure could also be scrutinized when it reaches the Senate: When Republicans tried to include a similar provision in the first round of Trump tax cuts in 2017, the Senate parliamentarian ruled that it violated upper-chamber procedural requirements. The measure could also come under scrutiny when it reaches the Senate: when Republicans tried to include a similar provision in the first round of Trump tax cuts in 2017, the Senate parliamentarian ruled it violated upper-chamber procedural requirements.
“I think that this particular provision is going to run into procedural trouble,” House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark said at the Democratic Women’s Caucus’ Wednesday morning news conference.
“Not only is this attack on reproductive health, it is just a continuation of taking away health care from Americans, in particular American women, in order to pay for tax cuts for those who will have no problem paying any medical bill,” she added.
