Tweet
Indiana plans to defy an Obama administration letter and continue barring Planned Parenthood from receiving federal funding — a move that, if continued, could cost the state more than $4 billion in Medicaid funds.
CMS Administrator Don Berwick notified Indiana Wednesday that its plan to bar the state Medicaid agency from contracting with abortion providers is illegal. If it does so, Indiana could stand to lose all federal funding of its Medicaid program, an administration source tells POLITICO.
“Medicaid programs may not exclude qualified health care providers from providing services that are funded under the program because of a provider's scope of practice,” Berwick wrote in the letter.
Berwick rejected Indiana’s proposed State Plan Amendment that would disallow contracts with abortion providers and gave the state 60 days to appeal the decision — an option that Indiana may move forward with.
The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration plans to continue implementing the legislation, signed by Gov. Mitch Daniels last month, that defunded Planned Parenthood.
“For now, our lawyers advise us that we must continue to follow the law the Indiana General Assembly passed,” says Marcus Barlow, director of communications for FSSA. “We will seek guidance from the attorney general on how to proceed going forward.”
Berwick was mum on what the consequences would be for doing so, only saying that his agency “cannot determine that the proposed amendment complies” with federal regulations.
Media outlets previously mused that Indiana stood to lose about $4 million in family planning funds, of which Planned Parenthood had previously received $3 million.
“If funding is cut off, CMS could look at that, and that could jeopardize the other funding that we get from them around family planning services,” Family and Social Services Administration Secretary Michael Gargano told the Indiana Star in April.
But a source at CMS told POLITICO there’s much more at stake, namely, the entirety of Indiana’s federal Medicaid funding. That came in at $4.3 billion last year, according to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. That accounts for about two-thirds of the state’s $5.9 billion Medicaid budget.
“We are working with Indiana and fully expect that the state will follow the federal law that sets the conditions for its receipt of more than $4 billion in Medicaid funds,” the CMS source said.
The letter came alongside new CMS guidance that specifically bars states from excluding abortion providers from their Medicaid programs.
“Medicaid programs may not exclude qualified health care providers — whether an individual provider, a physician group, an outpatient clinic or a hospital — from providing services under the program because they separately provide abortion services,” Center for Medicaid Director Cindy Mann wrote in the memo.
Federal regulations already bar public funding of abortion except in cases of rape, incest or to save the health or life of the mother. The Medicaid funds that Planned Parenthood of Indiana received were used for family planning services.
The new CMS guidance could resonate particularly strongly in Kansas, where the state Legislature moved in late May to strip Planned Parenthood of its federal funds. Legislators in Tennessee, North Carolina and Texas have pursued similar legislation that has not come to fruition.
Tennessee backed off of attempts to defund Planned Parenthood specifically because of concerns over constitutionality.
Planned Parenthood lauded the Obama administration decision.
“By issuing a letter to the state of Indiana rejecting its proposal to bar Planned Parenthood from providing preventive health care through Medicaid, HHS is sending a clear message that states cannot play politics with women’s health and prevent Medicaid patients from choosing their preferred health care providers,” says Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards. “The HHS letter is a strong rebuke to Indiana and serves as a warning to other states that attempts to bar federal funding for Planned Parenthood violate Medicaid law.”
Source: politico.com
CMS Administrator Don Berwick notified Indiana Wednesday that its plan to bar the state Medicaid agency from contracting with abortion providers is illegal. If it does so, Indiana could stand to lose all federal funding of its Medicaid program, an administration source tells POLITICO.
“Medicaid programs may not exclude qualified health care providers from providing services that are funded under the program because of a provider's scope of practice,” Berwick wrote in the letter.
Berwick rejected Indiana’s proposed State Plan Amendment that would disallow contracts with abortion providers and gave the state 60 days to appeal the decision — an option that Indiana may move forward with.
The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration plans to continue implementing the legislation, signed by Gov. Mitch Daniels last month, that defunded Planned Parenthood.
“For now, our lawyers advise us that we must continue to follow the law the Indiana General Assembly passed,” says Marcus Barlow, director of communications for FSSA. “We will seek guidance from the attorney general on how to proceed going forward.”
Berwick was mum on what the consequences would be for doing so, only saying that his agency “cannot determine that the proposed amendment complies” with federal regulations.
Media outlets previously mused that Indiana stood to lose about $4 million in family planning funds, of which Planned Parenthood had previously received $3 million.
“If funding is cut off, CMS could look at that, and that could jeopardize the other funding that we get from them around family planning services,” Family and Social Services Administration Secretary Michael Gargano told the Indiana Star in April.
But a source at CMS told POLITICO there’s much more at stake, namely, the entirety of Indiana’s federal Medicaid funding. That came in at $4.3 billion last year, according to the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. That accounts for about two-thirds of the state’s $5.9 billion Medicaid budget.
“We are working with Indiana and fully expect that the state will follow the federal law that sets the conditions for its receipt of more than $4 billion in Medicaid funds,” the CMS source said.
The letter came alongside new CMS guidance that specifically bars states from excluding abortion providers from their Medicaid programs.
“Medicaid programs may not exclude qualified health care providers — whether an individual provider, a physician group, an outpatient clinic or a hospital — from providing services under the program because they separately provide abortion services,” Center for Medicaid Director Cindy Mann wrote in the memo.
Federal regulations already bar public funding of abortion except in cases of rape, incest or to save the health or life of the mother. The Medicaid funds that Planned Parenthood of Indiana received were used for family planning services.
The new CMS guidance could resonate particularly strongly in Kansas, where the state Legislature moved in late May to strip Planned Parenthood of its federal funds. Legislators in Tennessee, North Carolina and Texas have pursued similar legislation that has not come to fruition.
Tennessee backed off of attempts to defund Planned Parenthood specifically because of concerns over constitutionality.
Planned Parenthood lauded the Obama administration decision.
“By issuing a letter to the state of Indiana rejecting its proposal to bar Planned Parenthood from providing preventive health care through Medicaid, HHS is sending a clear message that states cannot play politics with women’s health and prevent Medicaid patients from choosing their preferred health care providers,” says Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards. “The HHS letter is a strong rebuke to Indiana and serves as a warning to other states that attempts to bar federal funding for Planned Parenthood violate Medicaid law.”
Source: politico.com