FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 24, 2022
‍MEDIA CONTACT: Chloe Owens, chloe@mohealthcareforall.org, 901-488-2125

Last night along party lines, Missouri state senators rejected an amendment to remove language from the emergency supplemental budget bill, HB 3014, that effectively defunds Planned Parenthood and prohibits them from receiving Medicaid funding. 
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Our organization believes that all Missourians deserve access to quality, affordable, comprehensive, and holistic health care — no matter where they live or how much money they make. That vision cannot be achieved without providers like Planned Parenthood continuing to serve Medicaid patients in Missouri.
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As long as HB 3014 contains this exclusionary language, it discriminates against every patient seeking the wide variety of health services at Planned Parenthood facilities across the state, and it puts our entire state’s Medicaid program in jeopardy. Under federal law, all Medicaid patients have the right to choose from any willing provider, and Missouri is no exception to that rule. By targeting Planned Parenthood as an ineligible provider for people with Medicaid, HB 3014 endangers the entire program and the health and well-being of each MO HealthNet beneficiary. 
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We are disappointed and infuriated that state legislators have used a must-pass supplemental budget bill to impose discriminations based on ideological differences which will limit and jeopardize Missourians’ access to health services. President Biden and his administration must enforce Medicaid law and make it clear that no willing provider can be excluded from treating Medicaid patients — the health and lives of our most vulnerable neighbors depends on it. 
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Missouri Health Care for All is the only permanent, statewide organization in Missouri focused solely on grassroots organizing and mobilization to address health care issues. We partner with multi-issue statewide organizations and health-focused local organizations to ensure every person has access to affordable, quality care. Visit www.missourihealthcareforall.org.