Ignoring Stark Numbers from CBO, House Budget Committee Advances Bill Jeopardizing Health Care for Millions

Today, the U.S. House Committee on the Budget advanced a dangerous bill that could leave millions of Americans without access to health care. The bill would repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and would specifically block people with Medicaid coverage from accessing preventive health care like birth control, cancer screenings, and STD treatment at Planned Parenthood health centers.

Reps. Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) offered an amendment to strike this harmful provision from the bill, but — despite bipartisan support — the motion failed by a vote of 14-21.

The dangerous bill narrowly passed the House Budget Committee 19-17 and will next be heard in the House Rules Committee.

“Prohibiting patients from getting care at Planned Parenthood simply doesn’t work — patients are left with nowhere else to go for health care, and women are forced to go without birth control and cancer screenings. Coupled with drastic cuts to the Medicaid program, restrictions on abortion coverage, and the loss of coverage for 24 million Americans, the bill passed by the House Budget Committee today is a disaster for women.

—Dana E. Singiser, Vice President, Public Policy and Government Affairs, Planned Parenthood Federation of America

 

The Cost of This Legislation

The bill’s passage from the House Budget Committee comes just days after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reaffirmed that the provision to “defund” Planned Parenthood and block patients from accessing health care at the provider would be a disaster.

The CBO confirmed that, under the current GOP bill:

• 24 million people would lose health insurance within 10 years,

• Blocking people from accessing care at Planned Parenthood health centers would mean particularly reduced access to health care overall for patients who live in areas where Planned Parenthood is the only health care option or where Planned Parenthood serves low-income populations (54% of Planned Parenthood health centers are in rural or medically underserved areas, or areas where with health professional shortages)

• The “defund” language to block people from accessing care at Planned Parenthood is the only provision in the bill that is not related to the ACA, and it is designed to politically target the women’s health provider

“The fact is, one in five women in America has relied on Planned Parenthood, and their health care shouldn't get caught up in Republican leadership’s' extreme agenda. There’s a reason so many members of Congress have faced angry town halls back at home: The American people do not want to see their health care taken away.”

—Dana E. Singiser, Vice President, Public Policy and Government Affairs, Planned Parenthood Federation of America

 

Blocking Access to Planned Parenthood is Deeply Unpopular

Planned Parenthood health centers serve 2.5 million patients a year, and the “defund” provision in the ACA repeal bill is deeply unpopular with the American public.

• 75% of Americans, including majorities of both Republican women and Republican men, support federal Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, according to a recent poll. This goes along with 19 national polls that all show overwhelming support for Planned Parenthood.

• Health care groups across the country are standing up against repeal legislation. That includes the American Medical Association, who said they “cannot support provisions that prevent Americans from choosing to receive care from physicians and other qualified providers, in this specific case, those associated with Planned Parenthood affiliates, for otherwise covered services.”

 

4 Facts on "Defunding" Planned Parenthood  

FACT: Legislation denying access to care at Planned Parenthood was a health disaster in Texas.

Two Texas public health investigators wrote in the Washington Post that when Texas passed legislation it was devastating – and shouldn't be repeated in the rest of the country. A significant number of women also lost or had reduced access to primary care providers as a consequence of limiting patient options.

FACT: When lawmakers in Louisiana, Ohio, and Florida tried to block access to Planned Parenthood in the past, they suggested women could go to “alternative” providers for reproductive health care, including dentists, food banks, nursing homes, ENTs, elementary schools, rehabs, and retirement homes.

FACT: Planned Parenthood plays an outsized role in family planning services. Although Planned Parenthood health centers comprised 10% of the country’s safety-net centers that offered family planning care in 2010, they served 36% of patients served by such centers. In 21% of counties with a Planned Parenthood health center, Planned Parenthood was the only safety-net family planning provider; and in 68% of counties with a Planned Parenthood health center, Planned Parenthood served at least half of all safety-net family planning patients.

FACT: Support for Roe v. Wade is at the highest it’s ever been. According to Pew Research, 7 out of 10 Americans believe a woman should have the right to safe, legal abortion.

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