End of Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood in Texas

This represents about one-third of all abortions in the United States.

In fact, the state’s request for records is so far-reaching that Planned Parenthood officials say they’re anxious about protecting the confidentiality of both their patients and employees. Republicans have sought to cut off support for the group in the wake of undercover videos that show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of fetuses for research.

In one of his last acts in office, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) named eight Republicans to the special House panel investigating Planned Parenthood and “grisly practices of big abortion providers”, according to a release from the speaker’s office Friday.

Sandra Spencer, director of the women’s and gender studies programme at the University of North Texas (UNT), said the raids are “a blatant politicised move for control of women”. It also would repeal a medical device tax and a so-called Cadillac tax on high-cost insurance plans.

I don’t think that is asking too much when we consider what has come to light over the past few months. The agency’s investigative arm said it could not “provide comment on any oversight or investigative activities”.

At Planned Parenthood’s facility in Spring, Texas, which does not perform abortions, state investigators are requesting records related to specific services provided to Medicaid patients, employee information and appointment books, according to a letter obtained by The Texas Tribune.

A few Texas Democrats, too, objected. If the state is successful in their effort to deny PP patients Medicaid coverage, they will prevent thousands of low-income women from accessing preventive health care, including breast exams, HIV testing, and cervical cancer screening.

At present, federally qualified health centers serve nearly 23 million people per year, while Planned Parenthood serves under three million, Donovan said.

Hats off, Texas! You’ve taken this whole war on women to a whole new level.

In Texas, federal Medicaid funding flows through HHSC, which acts as a sort of middleman between the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and health care providers on the ground.

The same legislation, HR 3762, also is aimed at providing stopgap funding to keep federal agencies operating in the fiscal year that begins next Thursday to avoid a government shutdown.

They snapped photos but did not say what prompted the visit.

House Republicans voted Friday to repeal Obamacare’s core provisions and strip federal funds from Planned Parenthood, using an expedited process created to send those proposals to President Barack Obama’s desk for the first time. The final two members are Reps. “Texas completely ends taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood”, Abbott said Monday on his personal Twitter account.

Perhaps it’s because Planned Parenthood is a very generous contributor to Democratic candidates running for the Maine Legislature, giving close to $1 million to help them get elected in 2014 alone.

But given the evidence on the videos, it would be irresponsible for the state of Texas not to investigate. Officials in six states – Missouri, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and South Dakota – opened investigations into Planned Parenthood’s practices with fetal tissue and found no wrongdoing. Another seven states declined to investigate, finding no grounds for suspicion.