Planned Parenthood affiliates in Missouri have asked a state administrative law judge to stop the state from denying their clinics reimbursement through the state’s Medicaid program.
A law that comes into force on Wednesday bans the state Medicaid program for low-income people, MO Healthnet, from reimbursing Planned Parenthood for its services. The law states that “no public funds may be spent on abortion clinics or their affiliates.”
Planned Parenthood Great Rivers in St. Louis and Planned Parenthood Great Plains near Kansas City have filed complaints against MO Healthnet officials with the Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission, an independent panel of attorneys that hears disputes between state agencies and other parties.
(Organizations in Missouri that challenge reimbursement claims must first be heard by the commission before taking legal action, Planned Parenthood sources said.)
In the complaint, Planned Parenthood Great Rivers accuses the state of violating patients’ rights to choose their doctor, freedom of assembly and the equal treatment principle of the U.S. Constitution by unfairly downgrading Planned Parenthood.
“It violates federal Medicaid law to kick out a provider simply because of the services they provide,” said Richard Muniz, the organization’s interim president and CEO. “You may disagree with those services, but federal law makes it clear that you can be a Medicaid provider if you are a qualified and willing provider.”
Medicaid is a federally funded health insurance program administered by state governments.
As of summer 2024, nearly 1.3 million Missourians will be enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program. according to KFFa health policy research organization.
Planned Parenthood officials said they would continue to provide services to Medicaid patients even if the government did not reimburse them for the cost of this treatment.
The state banned abortions shortly after the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade ruling in 2022. Although Planned Parenthood no longer performs abortions at its Missouri clinics, its partners in Illinois and Missouri still offer the procedure. Its Missouri clinics continue to offer STD and pregnancy testing, birth control counseling and other medical services.
Representatives of the Missouri Department of Social Services, which administers MO HealthNet, could not be reached for comment.
The Missouri Supreme Court recently ruled several times in February that previous state laws denying funding to Planned Parenthood were unconstitutional.
In recent years, Missouri lawmakers have tried to eliminate Planned Parenthood Medicaid reimbursements through measures in budget bills, Muniz said. Courts have rejected those efforts, ruling that They were attempts to enact laws through budget planning. and that They have unfairly influenced Planned Parenthood.
Although Missouri lawmakers eliminated Medicaid funding through a standalone bill this year, Muniz expects the Administrative Hearings Commission to rule in Planned Parenthood’s favor.
“(Lawmakers) use taxpayers year after year to do this,” he said. “And, you know, if they really cared about health disparities, health equity and health outcomes, they would use that money and that attention to actually help the people of Missouri instead of politicizing health care.”
Nearly 20 percent of Planned Parenthood patients in Missouri use Medicaid insurance, organization officials said.
“While nearly all state health indicators fall far short of national standards, lawmakers have focused on election campaign stunts while completely disregarding real Missourians,” said Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains.
Although the Missouri Supreme Court has historically sided with Planned Parenthood, other states supported legislators’ ban on Medicaid reimbursement for abortion doctors.
Other states have blocked reimbursements to Planned Parenthood. Arkansas halted Medicaid payments to the organization after a federal appeals court ruled in the state’s favor in 2017.
