State warned on Planned Parenthood

Feds to Texas: Cutting Medicaid might be illegal

AUSTIN — The federal government has notified Texas that the state’s attempt to stop allowing Planned Parenthood to receive Medicaid reimbursements may be illegal.

As it has after similar moves in Louisiana, Alabama and Arkansas, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday notified Texas officials in a telephone call that their attempt “may be in conflict with federal law,” according to a statement.

“Longstanding Medicaid law prohibits states from restricting individuals with Medicaid coverage from receiving their care from any qualified provider,” the statement said. “Every year, millions of women benefit from critical preventive services, such as cancer screenings, that Planned Parenthood provides.”

As justification for its position, Health and Human Services provided Texas with a copy of a 2011 bulletin in which the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said states could not kick out providers based on “scope of practice.”

State officials have not said they are halting Medicaid reimbursements due to Planned Parenthood’s scope of practice. A letter sent to the provider last week cited several alleged violations, including some issues revealed in an controversial video related to the handling of fetal tissue and “evidence of Medicaid fraud.” The latter category still is under investigation; a state request for thousands of records is due this week.

Planned Parenthood has maintained that the move is based on political considerations and aimed at ending abortion in Texas. The organization, like all abortion providers, does not receive any taxpayer money for abortion, but, despite years of cuts, it still receives about $3 million in mostly federal money for reimbursements for other services, such as birth control, pregnancy tests and breast cancer screenings.

Planned Parenthood is expected to file a legal challenge against the state next month.

Similar lawsuits already have been filed in the other three states. Last week, a judge in Louisiana ordered that state to continue providing Medicaid reimbursements during a legal battle. On Wednesday, a judge in Alabama said that state’s governor wrongly had cut off reimbursements without a legitimate justification.

Texas officials have expressed confidence that their case is different.

A spokesman for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission’s inspector general, who is leading the effort against Planned Parenthood, confirmed that the federal government had reached out.

“We had a very productive call,” said the spokesman, Chris Cutrone. “Some concerns were voiced, and the state was able to responsively address them.”