The Supreme Court has handed down a 6-3 decision that allows states to disqualify Planned Parenthood from their Medicaid programs. The ruling is a major shift in how states can allocate taxpayer healthcare dollars, especially regarding providers associated with abortion services.
The justices ruled that Medicaid recipients do not have the legal right to sue if a state removes a provider from the program, even if that provider meets federal qualifications.
“States should be free to defund and redirect their taxpayer dollars, dollars that Americans, by majority, do not want going to funding abortions, to other comprehensive, life-affirming care in their states. And this will give them the ability to do so,” said Gabriella McIntyre, legal counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom’s Center for Life.
McIntyre explained to CBN’s Faith Nation that the case centers on Medicaid’s “any qualified provider” rule. Typically, this provision lets patients choose any eligible doctor or clinic for their care. However, this new ruling gives states the authority to bypass that rule by excluding organizations like Planned Parenthood.
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“And essentially what this means in practical terms is the states are now free. Not just South Carolina, but any state that wishes to do so, is free to disqualify and defund Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers from its Medicaid funding,” McIntyre added.
Although the case is not technically about abortion access, it directly affects public funding for Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider. Conservative states such as South Carolina, Texas, and Florida have long attempted to cut off Medicaid dollars from such organizations. This decision gives them the legal backing to do so, while also shielding those actions from lawsuits brought by affected patients.
Planned Parenthood, which also provides some non-abortion services, criticized the ruling. Leaders are accusing South Carolina’s governor of using anti-abortion politics to block “basic healthcare for underserved communities.”
“It means that South Carolinians who are enrolled in Medicaid may ultimately be no longer eligible to use that coverage at our health centers in SC—for birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment,” said Molly Rivera of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic.
In response, supporters of the ruling argue that there are many other healthcare options that do not include abortion services.
“There are nearly 200 other clinics in the state that provide comprehensive real healthcare to women—things that include reproductive and family planning services, cancer screenings, things of that nature,” McIntyre said.
