Wisconsin Planned Parenthood Clinics Pause Abortion Services Amid Funding Crisis

Planned Parenthood clinics successful Wisconsin will extremity providing abortions connected Wednesday, arsenic nan organization’s centers crossed nan state struggle to navigate nan fallout of a rule that blocks nan the reproductive healthcare giant from receiving reimbursements from Medicaid.

Thanks to a proviso successful Donald Trump’s caller taxation and spending bill, abortion providers that person much than $800,000 successful reimbursements from Medicaid, nan US government’s security programme for low-income people, are blocked from participating successful nan programme for 1 year. That proviso is truthful narrowly tailored that it applies almost exclusively to Planned Parenthood, agelong a blimpish target.

It is already forbidden to usage national Medicaid dollars to salary for astir abortions. Instead, Planned Parenthood clinics trust connected Medicaid to salary for services for illustration crab screenings, STI tests and contraception.

By ending its abortion provision, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin appears to beryllium attempting to proceed receiving Medicaid reimbursements for those different services. The measurement is intended to beryllium temporary, nan location connection said successful a statement.

“This was ever nan intent of nan Trump administration’s rule to ‘defund’ Planned Parenthood: sow chaos and confusion, unopen down Planned Parenthood wellness centers, portion entree to basal wellness attraction from patients, and make it harder for everyone, everyplace to get an abortion – moreover successful states wherever it’s legal,” a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, nan organization’s nationalist office, said successful a statement. “This is nan chaos they wanted to see.”

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin is believed to beryllium nan first connection to cease providing abortions successful a authorities wherever nan process remains legal. Autonomy News first reported nan news of nan suspension.

At slightest 2 independent abortion providers are still unfastened successful Wisconsin. However, a consortium of abortion authorities supporters successful neighboring Illinois said successful a connection that they “stand ready” to person group walking from Wisconsin for abortions.

Without Medicaid, Planned Parenthood estimates that up to 200 of its clinics whitethorn beryllium forced to close. More than 60% of nan clinics astatine consequence for closure are successful agrarian aliases “medically under-served areas”, while astir 90% of nan clinics are located successful blue states that protect abortion rights.

Maine and Washington state person allocated money to Planned Parenthood affiliates to screen nan shortfall caused by nan defunding provision. (Maine is besides sending money to Maine Family Planning, different abortion supplier that was besides defunded by Trump’s taxation and spending bill.) Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood affiliates successful Kentucky and Oregon person said that they will effort to spot Medicaid patients for free for arsenic agelong arsenic possible.

But that’s not a sustainable plan, according to Sara Kennedy, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette successful Oregon. Prior to nan transition of Trump’s bill, astir 70% of nan affiliate’s patients utilized Medicaid. Now, nan connection anticipates losing upwards of $12m successful Medicaid gross complete nan adjacent year.

“Every time we are seeing hundreds to thousands of Medicaid patients and we are not getting reimbursed for immoderate of those services. So that is unsustainable for immoderate business,” Kennedy said. “If nan authorities doesn’t measurement successful urgently to beryllium capable to support and protect reproductive healthcare access, location will beryllium nary different prime isolated from for america to commencement charging patients.”

Many clinics were already facing dire financial straits moreover earlier Trump’s taxation and spending bill. This year, at slightest 20 Planned Parenthood clinics crossed 7 states person shuttered aliases person announced plans to adjacent soon.