Judge Neil Wake ruled Friday that Arizona lawmakers could not refuse Planned Parenthood family planning funds solely because the organization also performs abortions. The federal judge found that federal law gives Medicaid recipients the right to choose among all qualified providers “without government interference.”
Judge Wake ruled that the state could not cut off funding for family planning, including federal Medicaid dollars, by simply determining that abortion providers are not qualified. The judge found that Arizona cannot determine that Planned Parenthood is not a “qualified” provider simply performs abortions outside the Medicaid program and without federal dollars. He wrote, “A state’s determination of whether a provider is qualified must relate to its ability to deliver Medicaid services.”
The law in question, disqualified Planned Parenthood from being an AHCCCS provider because they provide safe and legal abortions.
The litigation was based on a federal statute that protects Medicaid beneficiaries’ freedom to choose the qualified medical provider of their own choosing. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have stated repeatedly that states cannot limit a Medicaid beneficiary’s ability to choose a family planning provider based on the scope of services provided.
A law virtually identical to Arizona’s has been enjoined by a federal court in Indiana, and similar efforts to defund Planned Parenthood have been blocked by federal courts in Kansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.
“It is wrong for the state to tell Arizonans who they can and cannot see for their health care. The men and women of this state have the right to see the health care provider they deem is best for them,” says Bryan Howard, President and CEO, Planned Parenthood Arizona.
Last year, Planned Parenthood Arizona provided more than 9,400 pap tests, over 16,200 tests and treatments for sexually transmitted diseases, more than 33,700 breast exams, 136 HPV immunizations, and more than 85,400 contraceptives.