Trump administration rescinds Obama guidance on defunding Planned Parenthood
Source: The Hill
BY JESSIE HELLMANN - 01/19/18 11:15 AM EST
The Trump administration announced Friday it is rescinding guidance from the Obama administration that made it harder for states to defund Planned Parenthood.
The guidance, issued in 2016, warned states that ending Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood or other health-care providers that offer abortions could be against federal law.
The Obama administration argued Medicaid law only allowed states to bar providers from the program if those providers were unable to perform covered services or if they can't bill for those services.
However, the Trump administration rescinded that guidance Friday in a letter to state Medicaid directors, arguing it was part of the Obama administration's effort to favor abortion rights. "Reinstating the pre-2016 standards frees up states to once again decide for themselves what reasonable standards they use to protect Medicaid programs and their beneficiaries," Charmaine Yoest, assistant Health and Human Services secretary for public affairs, said in a press call with reporters Friday morning.
Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/369723-trump-administration-rescinds-guidance-protecting-planned-parenthoods
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TARGETS MEDICAID AND POOR WOMEN WITH NEW ATTEMPT TO DEFUND PLANNED PARENTHOOD
BY MARIE SOLIS ON 1/19/18 AT 1:15 PM
The Trump administration found a back-alley way to defund Planned Parenthood on Friday, allowing states to block the women's health organization from receiving any Medicaid funding.
The move would undo Obama-era guidelines that warned states that cutting off Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood may violate federal law.
Trump officials said the move would return some power to the states from the federal government, which had an abortion rights agenda under President Barack Obama. "This is part of the Trump administration's effort to roll back regulations the Obama administration put out to radically favor abortion," said Charmaine Yoest, assistant Health and Human Services secretary for public affairs, reported The Hill.
Friday's announcement marks just the latest attempt from the Trump administration to defund Planned Parenthood—a key Trump campaign promise. In the first year of Trump's presidency, his administration has found a number of roundabout ways to target the organization, which included April legislation that gave states the right to withhold Title X funds from abortion providers.
more
http://www.newsweek.com/trump-administration-targets-poor-women-new-medicaid-policy-785586
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