SC can’t block Planned Parenthood from state Medicaid network, court affirms
South Carolina officials cannot stop Medicaid recipients from using their coverage to seek care at Planned Parenthood, a federal appeals court said in an opinion Tuesday upholding a lower court’s decision.
In an executive order from July 2018, S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster, ordered the removal of Planned Parenthood and other companies that provide abortions from the state’s health agency’s Medicaid provider network.
Planned Parenthood and a patient fought back, filing a lawsuit that asked a judge to block McMaster’s order, and the judge agreed to do so.
On Tuesday, the court upheld the lower court’s injunction issued by a lower court, meaning that S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster’s July 2018 order — which would have removed Planned Parenthood and other companies that provide abortions from the state’s health agency’s Medicaid provider network — remains blocked.
Planned Parenthood South Atlantic called the appellate court’s Tuesday decision a “major win,” for patients seeking preventative health care services offered at their South Carolina locations, according to a statement.
“Every year, Planned Parenthood South Atlantic serves thousands of South Carolinians, providing lifesaving breast and cervical cancer screenings, birth control, STI testing and treatment, including HIV, and other preventive care,” Planned Parenthood South Atlantic CEO Jenny Black said in a statement. “Today we celebrate on behalf of all of those patients who can continue to come to us, their trusted health care provider, for family planning and other preventive health care.“
In their opinion Tuesday, judges in the Fourth Circuit of Appeals, which includes South Carolina, said the law gives Medicaid recipients the right to choose any health care provider that is “qualified to perform the service or services required.” Under that law, states cannot exclude health care providers “for reasons unrelated to professional competency,” judges wrote in their opinion.
Officials with the S.C. Governor’s Office vowed to appeal the appellate court’s decision.
“The governor will continue to fight this in the court and, if necessary, he will push it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court,” said the governor’s spokesman, Brian Symmes.
For now, South Carolina’s Medicaid recipients will still be able to seek medical care from Planned Parenthood.
Black, Planned Parenthood’s CEO, said the governor “should take heed of the court’s decision and focus on improving health outcomes for women in South Carolina rather than attempting to create more barriers to accessing healthcare.”
The court’s opinion marks the latest chapter in the ongoing legal battle between the governor’s office and Planned Parenthood.
The conflict kicked off shortly after McMaster’s decision to remove Planned Parenthood — which has locations in Columbia and Charleston — from the state’s network of acceptable health care providers for Medicaid recipients. Officials with Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and a patient filed a lawsuit against Joshua Baker, the head of the S.C. Department of Health and Human Services, in late July 2018.
Planned Parenthood argued that McMaster’s order was unconstitutional because it placed a burden on patients’ right to chose a doctor. On the other hand, lawyers for the state argued that the law did not define the term “qualified,” which would allow states to exclude certain providers.
In late August 2018, a federal court temporarily stopped McMaster’s order from booting Planned Parenthood from the state’s Medicaid network. The injunction insured that Planned Parenthood could continue to accept Medicaid patients.
Maayan Schechter contributed to this report.
This story was originally published October 30, 2019 at 1:27 PM.
