The Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services (CMS) has informed the states of Louisiana and Alabama that terminating their Medicaid contracts with Planned Parenthood for no substantiated reason may violate federal law.
“Longstanding Medicaid laws prohibit states from restricting individuals who have coverage through Medicaid from receiving care from a qualified provider,” [Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Ben Wakana ] said. “By restricting which provider a woman could choose to receive care from, women could lose access to critical preventive care, such as cancer screenings."
Both Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) and Alabama Governor Robert Bentley (R) decided to terminate their states' Medicaid contracts with Planned Parenthood even though neither state has investigated the allegations made against the organization.
States that have completed investigations of Planned Parenthood, including the state of Indiana, found no evidence of wrongdoing.
The Jindal administration actually explained to the Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services (CMS) that Planned Parenthood's Medicaid contract was terminated for no reason.
Mike Reed, a spokesman for Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R), indicated the state and its Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) are standing by its decision. [...]
“CMS reached out to DHH after we canceled the Medicaid provider contract with Planned Parenthood,” Reed said. “DHH explained to CMS why the state chose to exercise our right to cancel the contract without cause.”
"Without cause."
Taxpayers in Louisiana may soon find themselves paying for the legal defense of a unilateral decision made by Bobby Jindal, a decision that was admittedly made "without cause."
I suspect there was a cause involving Bobby Jindal's desperate campaign for higher office, but his administration is on record saying the contract was terminated on a whim.
On the bright side, the discovery phase of a trial would prove Planned Parenthood has done nothing wrong while conclusively establishing that Bobby Jindal is a whimsical moron.