Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of state attorneys general are pushing the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold Medicaid recipients’ ability to chose their own provider.
James and 16 other attorneys general filed an amicus brief with the highest court arguing a South Carolina policy that removed abortion providers from a list of Medicaid-covered organizations illegally violated federal law that gives patients, not states, the freedom to choose their health care providers.
The case stems from a 2018 decision by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster to direct the state’s Health Department to strike Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics from accepted family planning services covered by Medicaid. A federal district court ruled that move was unlawful, a decision upheld by an appellate court last March. In December, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.
The lawsuit is one of several cases that have the potential to alter foundational reproductive rights and health policies since the court struck down Roe v. Wade. James has been a part of several efforts to combat those sea changes including leading or joining other states in filing amicus briefs on emergency abortion access in Idaho and access to abortion medication Mifepristone.
While abortion services are not required to be covered by Medicaid in South Carolina, the attorneys general argued that Planned Parenthood provides other medical reproductive and sexual health services that are. The actions of South Carolina’s government are why Congress created protections to safeguard individuals’ right to choose their caretaker despite states’ broad discretion in setting Medicaid policy, the filing states.
The policy is especially important for low-income residents who face higher barriers to accessing quality health care, the attorneys general stated, noting that Medicaid coverage has positive economic effects both for individuals and the communities they are a part of and are disproportionately burdened by the cost of care.
“When states limit access to these providers, they undermine the very foundation of the Medicaid program, which is meant to ensure that vulnerable populations are able to access the health care they need,” James said.
James joined the brief along with attorneys general from California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and the District of Columbia.
