Manatt’s Deborah Bachrach, a partner with Manatt Health, spoke with Bloomberg Law on Planned Parenthood’s decision to forgo $60 million in federal funding for family planning, relying more on Medicaid funding.
According to Bloomberg Law, Planned Parenthood announced it wouldn’t accept Title X family planning funding from the federal government because of new restrictions on referring patients to abortion clinics. Planned Parenthood additionally receives about $500 million from Medicaid. Rural areas and states that chose not to expand access to Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act could be hit hardest by this decision.
Bachrach said she is worried that this shift in funding could force some locations to close and limit family planning services for lower-income women.
“This means clinics have fewer resources to provide services, and it puts more pressure on their Medicaid dollars,” she said.