A proposed waiver in South Carolina is threatening to take away care from thousands of people in the state who rely on Medicaid. While it’s nothing more than a way for Governor Henry McMaster to gain political points, the waiver is already causing confusion.
We’re here to help break it down:
WHAT’S HAPPENING
Last year, Henry McMaster issued an executive order to cut off public funding from any health center that provides abortion and directed the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS) to seek permission from the federal government to exclude abortion clinics from the state's Medicaid provider network. This order was purely political and helped him gain points from anti-abortion extremists in the state.
Fast forward to May 4th when SCDHHS, under McMaster’s orders, released a proposed waiver that would block health centers that provide abortion from seeing Medicaid patients -- essentially “defunding” Planned Parenthood health centers in South Carolina.
This proposed waiver goes beyond attacking Planned Parenthood, though. It directly attacks people across South Carolina who rely on Medicaid to get the reproductive health care they deserve by preventing them from seeing the reproductive health care provider of their choice.
SCDHHS is now planning to hold public hearings on the proposed waiver and has opened up a public comment period through Wednesday, June 6th. The waiver will then go under review and changes may or may not be made based on public comments.
Sounds confusing, right? That’s the point.
WHY IT MATTERS
Through this waiver, Governor McMaster is telling the most vulnerable South Carolinians that he doesn’t care about their reproductive well-being.
When Governor McMaster issued his executive order, he knew that there would be ways to directly attack Planned Parenthood through a complicated, bureaucratic process. He wanted a quick, cheap way to earn political points right before his competitive re-election bid.
He wants the waiver process to be as confusing as possible so that you don’t pay attention.
What he doesn’t know is that there is a groundswell of Planned Parenthood supporters who are not going to stand for his political games.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
At a time when Planned Parenthood is more popular than ever, we need to show Governor McMaster that he can’t get away with playing politics with people’s lives.
We can stop this waiver from becoming reality in South Carolina, but we need your help. We need you to contact SCDHHS and tell them that South Carolina should be trying to make us all stronger and healthier -- not keep people away from the care they need.
Show McMaster that you won’t be confused by his political games. Submit your public comment NOW and tell your friends and family to do the same.
Tags: Defunding, Medicaid, South Carolina