Scoop: Planned Parenthood fights proposed termination of Medicaid agreements in Ohio
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Two Planned Parenthood affiliates in Ohio are fighting a recent state proposal to terminate their Medicaid provider agreements.
Why it matters: Planned Parenthood faces state and federal threats to Medicaid funding, and the termination could create further-reaching effects for thousands of Ohio patients.
Catch up quick: July's budget reconciliation bill "defunded" Planned Parenthood with a one-year ban on reimbursements from Medicaid for organizations offering abortions.
- That federal ban was frozen days later amid a lawsuit, but was allowed to move forward in September.
- The bill did not issue guidance on how states should proceed.
Driving the news: Late last month, the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) sent letters to Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio (PPGOH) and Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region (PPSWO) informing that, beyond the reimbursement ban, they face termination of their Ohio Medicaid provider agreements.
- On Thursday, the Planned Parenthood affiliates requested an administrative hearing to contest the decision.
Threat level: Termination could mean further-reaching effects than the year ban, which would expire if not renewed by Congress in the next budget cycle.
- It's an "aggressive" step, and one that Planned Parenthood isn't aware of any other state taking, PPGOH and PPSWO general counsel Melissa Cohen tells Axios.
- She says terminations are typically reserved for "bad actors," criminal conviction or negligence, and could delay PPGOH and PPSWO from future eligibility.
What they're saying: "Planned Parenthood has followed all rules and regulations of the program and is an important safety net provider," Cohen says. "We'll be appealing these termination orders because there's no reason to terminate us."
Between the lines: Ohio voters enshrined the right to abortion in 2023 and Medicaid is already prohibited from funding most abortion services.
- "They just want to punish Planned Parenthood," Cohen says. "They want to attack us and deny us any funding to operate at all and really put us in a difficult position to continue to exist."
State of play: The two affiliates serve 27,000 patients per year on Medicaid.
- "There are some other Medicaid providers in the state, but that's an enormous number of patients to try to absorb in a timely manner," Cohen says.
- Federal cuts already resulted in Planned Parenthood closures in Cleveland, Springfield and Hamilton, per Planned Parenthood.
The other side: An ODM spokesperson has not replied to Axios' request for comment.
What's next: Beyond the state hearing, oral arguments for Planned Parenthood's federal lawsuit are scheduled for Nov. 12 in the First Circuit Court of Appeals.