McMaster’s family planning ‘fix’ still causes problems for poor people

Gov. Henry McMaster does not care about the health needs of the families of South Carolina.

One week after he vetoed a budget item that would have denied South Carolina all of the nearly $16 million in Medicaid funding for family-planning services in the 2018-2019 state budget, the governor apparently realized how hurtful that was.

So on Friday, he issued an executive order that attempts to reverse most of the veto, and allow Medicaid reimbursements for family planning services — with a huge caveat: The money can’t go to providers that also offer abortions.

This shows the governor’s lack of understanding of how Medicaid works and of the far-reaching negative effects his actions have on the health of our people.

Not one dollar of Medicaid money is used to pay for abortions at Planned Parenthood health centers in South Carolina.

Planned Parenthood provides family-planning services, including birth control, breast exams, cancer screening and sexually transmitted disease testing and treatment. It is reimbursed for providing those services to patients who are Medicaid-eligible, just like any other health-care provider.

Health-care providers throughout the state routinely refer patients to Planned Parenthood health centers for family-planning services because they know patients will receive prompt, high-quality professional care, no matter what. Many South Carolininas will be denied access to the health-care provider of their choice because the governor is peevishly focused on “defunding Planned Parenthood.”

I assume that Planned Parenthood employees drink water, so I wonder if we should fear that the governor’s next executive order will attempt to ban water, since it constitutes an “indirect benefit” to that organization?

Gov. McMaster’s actions are harmful and self-serving. The citizens of South Carolina deserve a governor who is aware of the needs of his or her constituents and puts the health and welfare of their families ahead of his political agenda.

The State publishes a cross section of the letters we receive from South Carolinians in order to provide a forum for our community and also to allow our community to get a good look at itself, for good or bad. The letters represent the views of the letter writers, not necessarily of The State.

This story was originally published July 16, 2018 at 9:41 AM.