Posted on 12/12/2011 8:12:59 PM PST by hocndoc
The Obama administration has turned down a request from Texas to run its Title X family planning program, funded with federal taxpayer dollars, without funding the Planned Parenthood abortion business.
The adminsitration sent a letter to inform the Texas Health and Human Services Commission of its intent to deny a request to extend the Medicaid Women’s Health Program if Texas complies with its law banning contractors “that perform or promote elective abortions or affiliate with entities that perform or promote elective abortions.”
Earlier this year, Texas yanked about $64 million in funding from Planned Parenthood and directed the funds to agencies that do not do abortions. In conjunction with that, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission submitted a request to the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services to continue its family planning program without funding Planned Parenthood or other abortion agencies.
As it has in Indiana and New Hampshire, the Obama administration denied the request and, according to the Texas Tribune, Cindy Mann, director of the federal agency, wrote a letter to Texas officials today saying its request is a violation of the federal Social Security Act.
“We want to be very clear [that] Medicaid does not pay for abortions and will not pay for abortions,” Mann told the Tribune. “We indicated to the state today [that] their proposal violates the longstanding law.”
Mann told the newspaper the Obama administration would allow Texas to continue de-funding Planned Parenthood until March, by which the state would have to work with federal officials to determine how to move forward.
“We’re very much interested in continuing discussions with them on having a longstanding renewal of the family planning demonstration program,” Mann said. “…The issue here is not whether Medicaid funding is involved but whether the state can restrict access to a qualified health provider simply because they provide other services Medicaid doesn’t pay for.”
Gov. Rick Perry told the newspaper he was uspet by the Obama administration’s decision, “I am concerned the Obama Administration is playing politics by holding women’s health care hostage because of Texas’ pro-life policies,” saying Obama is “sacrificing the health of millions of Texas women in the name of their pro-abortion agenda.”
Joe Pojman, the director of Texas Alliance for Life also condemned the decision in comments to LifeNews.
“We believe the State of Texas has every right to deny millions of tax dollars to Planned Parenthood, which is what the Texas Legislature and Governor Perry has chosen to do,” he said. “Senate Bill 7, passed last summer during a special legislative session, prohibits Medicaid tax dollars under the Women’s Health Program from going to abortion providers and their affiliated organizations.”
“This bill excludes several dozen Planned Parenthood sites from the Women’s Health Program, but it does not exclude any other hundreds of Women’s Health Program providers in Texas. Many of the other providers offer comprehensive primary and preventative care to low- income women in addition to family planning, which Planned Parenthood is unable or unwilling to provide,” he continued. “By threatening to cancel the Women’s Health Program in Texas, the Obama Administration is showing it would sooner deny tens of millions of dollars of medical services to low-income women rather than allow the State of Texas to cut off tax funding to Planned Parenthood.”
On February 17, 2011, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott issued an opinion affirming that the state may exclude providers that perform abortions or are affiliates of abortion providers from a Medicaid program.
The Texas de-funding has already resulted in the closing of 12 Planned Parenthood centers.
“A new confirmed total of 12 Planned Parenthood facilities have been shut down in Texas since the end of the 82ndlegislative special session, which dealt the abortion industry a $64.2 million blow. Without government funding, Planned Parenthood facilities are withering on the vine. New funding priorities set by the legislature detail that any facility associated with the abortion industry is given the lowest priority for family planning funds. As a result, three Planned Parenthood affiliates have been forced to close several of their facilities in order to reduce operating costs,” said Elizbaeth Graham of Texas Right to Life.
In September, the Obama administration made a decision to force New Hampshire taxpayers to fund the Planned Parenthood abortion business after the state’s Executive Council voted to revoke a $1.8 million contract. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced it will provide the contract for family planning with Planned Parenthood directly from the federal government to the abortion business rather than routing the money through the state and letting New Hampshire officials determine who should receive the Title X grants. The council voted against funding because Planned Parenthood does abortions and its top officials earn big six-figure salaries.
The decision came after the Obama administration sent the state a strongly-worded letter to complain. The Health and Human Services Department is claiming the state broke federal rules in denying the Planned Parenthood contract and it alleges the state must provide family planning services to low-income women and that de-funding Planned Parenthood puts it at risk of losing federal funding by supposedly denying women access to family planning — even though other alternatives are available from other agencies.
After Indiana’s decision to de-fund Planned Parenthood, the top Medicaid official in the Obama administration denied Indiana’s use of its new state law that would cut off anywhere from $2 million to $3 million the Planned Parenthood abortion business receives in federal funds via the Indiana government through Medicaid. The Obama administration told the state it can’t implement the new law, with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Donald Berwick denying a request to deny funds saying the federal Medicaid law stipulates that states can’t exclude providers based on the services they provide.
Indiana refused to comply and is standing its ground against a lawsuit Planned Parenthood filed and is appealing the Obama administration’s ruling that it can’t determine who receives the Medicaid tax dollars the state is given to dole out. But Marcus Barlow, a spokesman for Indiana’s Family and Social Services Administration, told National Journal, “The way the law was written, it went into effect the moment the governor signed it. We were just advised by our lawyers that we should continue to enforce Indiana law.”
Exactly. And if Gov. Perry was serious about winning the WH he’d know this and be way out in front of the issue.
For every dollar TX pays in taxes to the Feds, the state gets about ninety cents back from the feds. So, are you saying that TX should voluntarily say to the feds, Keep all the tax money you get from TX..we don't want any of our own money?
Or are you saying that TX and Texans should quit paying all federal Taxes? Explain, please, as I didn't really understand what you meant.
By the way, a copy of the letter from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is here,
http://www.texasallianceforlife.org/issues/whp/TX%20Letter%20to%20Millwee%2012.12.11.pdf
And includes the name and phone number of the person to contact:
“Please feel free to contact me at 202-205-5682 if you have any questions or wish to discuss this issue further.
“Sincerely,
“Cindy Mann
“Director”
Good plan.
Clearly Obama can't have this! His death squads must be able to perform his service of taking the life of babies....remember to him they are "punishment".
No doubt, next the DOJ-Eric Holder will block Texas’ new Photo Vote ID Bill that’s sitting on his desk for “review” due to the 1965 Civil Rights Law that still controls election results and legislative redistricting of some states.
???
That can't be. According to the Ubama regime's Cindy Mann:
“We want to be very clear [that] Medicaid does not pay for abortions and will not pay for abortions,” Mann told the Tribune."
So, if Medicaid does not pay for abortions, how could those 12 abortion factories have been effected by anything Texas does? I mean, there's no connection. Cindy Mann said so. Cindy Mann isn't a lying piece of sh!+, right? Who would ever think such a thing about Cindy Mann? That she's a lying piece of sh!+, I mean?
Those are not all centers that performed abortions.
More at the Houston Chronicle.
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Texas-abortion-provider-exclusion-blocked-2398645.php
This looks like it goes farther than simply disapproving of the way that we allocated our well woman and family planning funds - it appears that Obama has decided that we can’t continue to make recipients of Texas funds sign a contract to not perform or refer for abortions.
I have to wonder what that big, fat, new PP facility on the Gulf Freeway right by U of Houston does these days...
I have to drive by it, both ways, to and from work every single day...
At first they had a few pro-life protestors picketing outside the armored gates and walls...But that effort has since died...
And the Harris County DEMOCRAT party womens organizatrion is having their Winter Holiday party inside that very facility...
So the irony of having a party celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ inside a facility that promotes abortions is rather interesting to say the least...
You have to RSVP the organizers for “security purposes” to get in...And even then, who knows...
Just when you think you couldn’t possibly hate them more than you already do...
The only reason I can think of for anyone to be a Democrat these days is if thye want to kill the unborn and/or they want to take from the producers. One of the reasons I can’t bear the Libertarian party anymore is the acceptance of the pro-abort in that party.
Jan 20, 2013: the day we take the USA back from the spoilers and abortionists.
This is true, which is why I would like to see every state cut off. But as it is denying Texas her share of the money is only forcing the Tax payers of Texas to send money to every other State.
Leftist like to make the argument that if you don’t want goverment hands outs you shouldn’t take em, otherwise your a hypocrite. But in fact it is the other way around. As the Goverment will tax you for them handouts whether you take them or not. Taking them not will only further enrich and reward those who do support them for their support.
Making their vote in toleration of the resulting Taxes all the more rewarding to them while also all the more detrimental to you.
Does not federal law prohibit federal money being spent on Abortion? IS not Obama implicitly demanding Texas violate the law for federal money and thus also violating the law himself?
The Libertarian Party simply states that it is a state issue. You have a problem with the Tenth Amendment?
The definition and punishment for the various forms of homicide is most certainly a State’s right, but whether or not abortion is homicide is not. The 10th does not justify or permit Parties’ ‘acceptance of the pro-abort.’
Compartmentalization is a tenet of utilitarianism. The Dems say Fed funds don’t pay for abortion, ignoring the fact that subsidy of the ‘provider’ keeps them in business.
Exactly.
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