LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — Arkansas is ending its Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood, Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Friday, despite warnings federal officials have given other states that such a move could violate the law.
Hutchinson ordered the Arkansas Department of Human Services to terminate its Medicaid provider contract in 30 days. The move came in response to secretly recorded videos released by an anti-abortion group showing Planned Parenthood officials describing how they provide fetal tissue from abortions for medical research.
“It is apparent that after the recent revelations on the actions of Planned Parenthood, that this organization does not represent the values of the people of our state and Arkansas is better served by terminating any and all existing contracts with them,” Hutchinson said in a statement.
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Planned Parenthood received more than $51,000 in Medicaid payments in Arkansas over the past fiscal year for family planning and gynecological services. None of the money went toward abortions, Arkansas Department of Human Services spokeswoman Amy Webb said.
Independent state Rep. Nate Bell, who chairs the Arkansas House State Agencies and Governmental Affairs Committee, sent a letter to Hutchinson Thursday asking the governor to terminate the contract. Hutchinson said he’s received a similar request from other state lawmakers, including Republican Sen. Eddie Joe Williams, who chairs the Senate committee, and Republican Rep. David Meeks of Conway.
Hutchinson announced the move just a couple of hours after telling reporters he was reviewing the lawmakers’ requests. He told reporters he was “very troubled” by the videos.
Alabama and Louisiana earlier this month announced they were ending Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood, a move that prompted a warning from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that it could violate federal law.
“Longstanding Medicaid laws prohibit states from restricting individuals who have coverage through Medicaid from receiving care from a qualified provider,” Lori Lodes, spokeswoman for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said in an email before Hutchinson’s announcement. “By restricting which provider a woman could choose to receive care from, women could lose access to critical preventive care, such as cancer screenings.”
RELATED: Trump somehow backs Democratic side in Planned Parenthood fight Hutchinson’s statement did not explain what legal grounds the state would use to defend terminating the contract. Louisiana officials have argued the move doesn’t violate federal law because other Medicaid providers offer the same services as Planned Parenthood Hutchinson earlier this year signed into law a measure prohibiting public funding to abortion providers and entities that refer women to abortion providers, a move aimed at blocking any money to Planned Parenthood. The new law, however, did not apply to Medicaid funding. The organization had previously received money for sex education funding. Planned Parenthood didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Hutchinson’s decision. The group earlier Friday noted the warnings Alabama and Louisiana had received, and accused abortion opponents of using “discredited attacks” to jeopardize women’s health care. “Federal law requires that patients have their choice of a Medicaid-qualified provider–like Planned Parenthood,” Angie Remington, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, said in statement. “Opposing safe, legal abortion is simply not a valid reason to end a contract.”
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