Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
With No Presidential Veto Protection, Planned Parenthood Braces For The Worst
The Washington Post: Planned Parenthood Could Be First Casualty Of Obamacare Repeal Efforts
A fierce battle over the future of reproductive rights is now underway in Washington as congressional Republicans made the first move last week to slash funding for Planned Parenthood. In starting to roll back the Affordable Care Act, the GOP is also planning to target the country’s largest women’s health-care provider. Planned Parenthood could lose millions in dollars of reimbursements from Medicaid and other funding as soon as this spring, if the repeal effort advances. (Snell, 1/18)
The Washington Post Fact Checker: Paul Ryan’s Claim That For Every Planned Parenthood Clinic, 20 Health Centers Provide Care
[Speaker Paul] Ryan said that for each Planned Parenthood clinic, there are 20 federal community health centers that can provide the kinds of services that Planned Parenthood provides. Is that correct? (Lee, 1/18)
Sacramento Bee: Hundreds Rally To Support Planned Parenthood At California State Capitol
Pink scarves, hats and boxing gloves symbolizing opposition to threats to defund Planned Parenthood were the fashion du jour Tuesday outside the state Capitol, where hundreds of people from around Northern California rallied to support the network of health clinics that treat many of the state’s low-income women. The midday mix of protest and party featuring pink-clad legislators and celebrities pushed back against federal threats to block Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid funding. Beneath the festivities in downtown Sacramento, however, roiled worry from patients about where they’ll find affordable health care if the clinics close their doors. (Caiola, 1/17)
San Jose Mercury News: Lena Dunham, Wilson Cruz To Speak At Planned Parenthood Rally
Actors Lena Dunham and Wilson Cruz on Tuesday decried congressional efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, saying it was an attack on women, the poor and others who rely on the clinics for basic health services and family planning... The “Pink Out” rally on the Capitol steps, just three days before Donald Trump takes office, drew hundreds of demonstrators and a dozen or more state lawmakers. Many of the politicians wore bright pink scarves — and some of them put on pink boxing gloves — to show their support. (Murphy, 1/17)
And out of Texas —
Reuters: Texas Planned Parenthood Asks Judge To Block Medicaid Funding Cut
The leaders of Texas Planned Parenthood asked a federal judge on Tuesday to block the state's bid to halt Medicaid funding for the healthcare group, which has long been targeted by Republicans for providing abortions. Planned Parenthood has said the threatened funding cut, by terminating Planned Parenthood's enrollment in the state-funded healthcare system for the poor, could affect nearly 11,000 patients across Texas. (1/17)
Texas Tribune: At Court, Planned Parenthood Argues Against Removal From Medicaid
Lawyers for Planned Parenthood argued in federal court on Tuesday there could be devastating consequences for low-income Texas men and women if the reproductive health provider is kicked out of Medicaid. In the first day of a multi-day hearing in the U.S. District Court in Austin, Planned Parenthood lawyers and witnesses said in front of a packed courtroom that ending the organization’s reimbursements from the joint federal-state health insurance program for the poor and disabled could endanger access to family planning services for Texas’ most vulnerable populations. (Evans, 1/17)
The Associated Press: Judge: Planned Parenthood Videos 'Baloney' In Medicaid Fight
A federal judge deciding whether Texas can block Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid dollars scolded attorneys Tuesday for rehashing the debate over secretly recorded videos that Republicans across the U.S. — Texas included — have used to try defunding the nation's largest abortion provider. (1/17)
