Washington, DC - All 24 Energy and Commerce Democrats sent a letter today to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar expressing serious concerns regarding HHS’ recent decision to, against longstanding Congressional intent, rescind existing guidance on the rights of Medicaid beneficiaries to receive family planning and preventive care services from their qualified providers of choice. The Democrats are also troubled that HHS appeared to work in tandem with an anti-abortion advocacy organization in rescinding the guidance.
Congress created an unambiguous legal right to family planning services for Medicaid beneficiaries’ choice of provider more than 45 years ago. On Jan. 19, 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rescinded guidance from April 2016, which made clear that states could not limit the ability of Medicaid enrollees to access family planning and reproductive health care services from certain providers, such as Planned Parenthood-affiliated health centers, that may separately offer the full range of legally permissible women’s health services, including legal abortion services. The Trump Administration’s action also reversed a prior Department of Justice interpretation that the Medicaid Act guarantees the right to provider choice.
“This decision is a complete reversal of prior guidance and stands in stark contrast to the longstanding principle that individuals enrolled in Medicaid should be afforded the same basic rights and privileges as those with private coverage when choosing from whom to receive covered health services," the Democrats wrote to Azar.
According to new documents recently revealed by a whistleblower, senior HHS and CMS officials received a draft letter rescinding the 2016 guidance that originated from the Alliance Defending Freedom, an anti-abortion advocacy organization and Southern Poverty Law Center designated hate group, one week before CMS took action.
“We are also gravely alarmed by reports that an anti-abortion advocacy organization provided input and assistance in drafting HHS’ recent announcement. This calls into question the legitimacy of HHS’ actions into this matter, as well as the true motivations of this Administration," the Democrats continued. “The apparent coordination between HHS and Alliance Defending Freedom raises serious ethical questions and makes clear that this document should not be relied upon."
Efforts to exclude qualified providers from state Medicaid programs would restrict enrollees’ access to quality family planning and preventive care services and in doing so unnecessarily put critical public health goals, such as detecting cancer, stopping the spread of sexually transmitted infection (STI), and preventing unintended pregnancy, at risk.
“Limiting access to qualified family planning providers solely for ideological reasons separate from their ability to provide care harms patients and restricts women from making their own health care decisions," the Members continued in the letter to Azar. “We believe this Administration’s recent action is unlawful and sets a dangerous precedent for the future of the Medicaid program."
The letter was signed by every Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee: Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL), Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), Rep. Gene Green (D-TX), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Mike Doyle (D-PA), Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA), Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL), Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD), Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-CA), Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT), Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY), Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-IA), Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-OR), Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA), Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-CA), Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA), and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI).
