Statement on Approval of Healthy Texas Women 1115 Medicaid Demonstration

Decision discriminates against clinicians who provide abortion care and decreases access to comprehensive reproductive health care

[New York, NY, January 30, 2020]  Last week, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved a waiver submitted by the state of Texas that will allow the state to exclude clinicians who provide abortion care from delivering family planning services covered by Medicaid and Medicare.  This decision discriminates against clinicians who provide abortion care, threatens access to reproductive health care for millions of people in Texas, and will end up reducing the number of qualified family planning providers in the state. No clinician should be disqualified from being able to provide care to the communities they serve. We know that this is just one more attempt to deny people – especially those who are low-income –access to abortion care, and sets a dangerous precedent should other states follow suit. 

The Reproductive Health Access Project seeks to expand access to comprehensive reproductive health care services for everyone, everywhere. We focus our efforts on supporting primary care clinicians who practice in medically underserved communities, where many people receive Medicaid. By making it impossible for clinicians who provide abortion care to also offer preventive and family planning care, CMS and the state of Texas are in effect decimating access to critical health services for the most vulnerable. 

 

 

Phone:  646-895-6464      

Email:  media@reproductiveaccess.org