Without Medicaid 90,000 Texan Women will LOSE their healthcare!

LATEST ATTACK ON PLANNED PARENTHOOD SHREDS MEDICAID PROGRAM

by Planned Parenthood of the Texas Capital Region on Tuesday, May 3, 2011 at 3:31pm

LATEST ATTACK ON PLANNED PARENTHOOD SHREDS MEDICAID PROGRAM

Reckless new bill would eliminate health care for 90,000 Texas women



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 03, 2011


AUSTIN, TX -- Today, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee considers a bill to block access to birth control, cervical cancer screenings, and other basic reproductive health care for more than 90,000 Texas women by banning Planned Parenthood from continued participation in the Medicaid Women's Health Program (WHP). SB 1854 by Senator Robert Deuell eliminates the critically necessary Medicaid Women's Health Program completely if Planned Parenthood successfully litigates against the ban on its health centers' participation.

The Senate bill bans Planned Parenthood from providing basic health care including breast and cervical cancer screenings and birth control to low-income women who qualify for the Medicaid program. Almost half of the participants in the program receive their primary health services, in addition to family planning, from a Planned Parenthood health center. In many instances, Planned Parenthood is a health care safety net, providing the only health care services patients receive annually.

Per federal and state law, no Medicaid funds are used for abortion services. Regular, mandated audits by the Health and Human Services Commission confirm that no federal or state funds are used for abortion services—directly or indirectly. Banning Planned Parenthood's continued participation vastly reduces the fiscal savings of the program—savings of more than $40 million in 2008 and generating $9 in federal funding for every $1 spent by Texas.

Planned Parenthood issued a letter to Senator Deuell today clarifying that Planned Parenthood will pursue litigation if necessary to ensure that they can continue to serve the low-income Texans who rely on Planned Parenthood health centers for their health care.

"This bill dictates where women can go for their reproductive health care and engages in reckless politics by dismantling a successful program that saves over $40 million in taxpayer funds every year," said Jeffrey Hons, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Trust of South Texas.

"All health centers serving Medicaid clients are already stretched to the max, serving the thousands of Texans who depend on their services. By banning Planned Parenthood from providing health care to more than 40,000 Texas women through the Medicaid Women’s Health Program, this Senate bill shreds the health care safety net that saves lives and dollars. Planned Parenthood is prepared to move forward with a lawsuit if that’s what it take to continue to provide cervical cancer screenings and other health care to the women who depend on our health centers," stated Peter J. Durkin, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast.

“Many areas in Texas have only one provider where women can access the services through the Medicaid Women’s Health Program. That provider, generally a Planned Parenthood health center, is the only place where women can receive these life saving programs,” said Tony R. Thornton, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Association of Lubbock.

Contact: Sarah J. Wheat, cell 512-657-3311 or Rochelle Tafolla, cell 713-775-8099

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For more than 75 years, Planned Parenthood has been the most trusted source of nonprofit reproductive health care in Texas. Planned Parenthood's health centers provide health care to more than 263,000 Texans each year including 121,526 screenings for cervical cancer; 123,122 screenings for breast cancer screenings; and 383,240 tests/treatments for sexually transmitted infections.