The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of South Carolina on Tuesday, allowing the state to exclude Planned Parenthood from its Medicaid program. The case, Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, centered on whether Medicaid beneficiaries have the right to sue states over provider exclusions. The Court determined that the Medicaid Act does not grant individuals the right to enforce the “any qualified provider” provision through private lawsuits.
As The Wall Street Journal reports, states now face fewer obstacles when removing Planned Parenthood clinics from their Medicaid programs:
The court, in a 6-3 decision written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, ruled that patients don’t have a right to sue states that disqualify Planned Parenthood based on their opposition to abortion. The court’s three liberal justices dissented.
The case came from South Carolina, where Gov. Henry McMaster in 2018 issued an executive order that led to the removal of Planned Parenthood as an eligible healthcare provider under Medicaid, the joint federal-state program for limited-income Americans.
Planned Parenthood clinics offer a range of healthcare services to women aside from abortion, and treating Medicaid patients has provided a significant source of revenue for the organization. Although Medicaid funds can’t be used to pay for abortions, South Carolina says any income Planned Parenthood receives frees up other money the organization could use to help women end pregnancies.
One Planned Parenthood patient sued the state, arguing she had a right under Medicaid law to seek care from any qualified healthcare provider. Lower courts allowed her claim to proceed and agreed with her arguments, saying Planned Parenthood’s status as an abortion provider wasn’t a valid basis to exclude the group from the state’s Medicaid network.
Gorsuch emphasized that allowing private enforcement could divert state resources from essential services to litigation, a policy decision best left to Congress. The three liberal justices dissented, expressing concern over limiting patients’ ability to choose their health care providers.
The ruling will likely encourage other states to pursue similar measures to restrict Medicaid funding for organizations affiliated with abortion services.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
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In truth, PP doesn’t provide any significant “service” other than the murder of unborn children. This has been proven time and again. As usual, the WSJ gets it wrong, in order to perpetuate the lie that PP is a “health care” company.