How Planned Parenthood Uses Money
Money is fungible. In other words, sources of income easily get mixed together.
For instance, lets say that the government gives $500 million to PP. But since the government says this money cant be used for abortion, PP puts the money into a different pot. PP now has an extra $500 million. That money frees up its other resources to cover other needs . Then the organization can use these federal funds for other services, such as birth control, sex education, or any number of things. But in reality, these governmental funds help PP do what makes the most money. And that is abortion.
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Further, contraceptives and sex ed programs both directly and indirectly increase the abortion rate. One of the ways that contraceptives work is to thin the lining of the uterus. If the uterine lining is too thin, the baby cannot implant. This causes his death. Its an early abortion.
And PPs sex ed programs actually harm children. A July 2020 Family Leader article reported on federal studies, stating that PPs sex education programs do not reduce teenage pregnancy. Furthermore, in five states where students were subjected to PPs sex ed, pregnancy rates increased.
Would These Abortions Go Away Without Medicaid Funding
Some would, though some would be paid for privately. When Medicaid does not cover abortions, studies have found that the number of abortions drops by about one-third. Those pregnancies are carried to term, and the child is left alive. Decades of other research on the issue have had similar findings. According to these studies, about a third of Medicaid-funded abortions dont happen if they have to be paid for privately.
In addition, without Medicaid funding, unwanted births decrease as well. Research has shown that when abortion is more difficult to access financially, people take greater care to avoid pregnancy. In fact, the effect is so significant that some studies have found that the number of births actually decreases along with drops in abortions.
First Look: Biden Backs Federal Fund For Abortion Support
President Biden would support a federal fund for people who need to take time off work and pay for childcare to obtain an abortion, he said in an interview forum with NowThis that will air Sunday on social media.
Why it matters: It’s one of his strongest public comments in favor of federal support for those seeking abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.
Details: Biden was responding to a question from Danielle Mathisen, a 26-year-old medical resident, who noted that some companies have begun helping their workers pay for abortions and asked whether Biden would support federal funding for the same services.
- “The answer is absolutely … I do support that, and I’ve publicly urged companies to do that. I’ve urged them publicly as president of the United States saying, ‘This is what you should be doing,” he said.
- “I urge you to do it because there’s so many, and imagine the women who need that kind of assistance, but have no money at all to be able to do this. None. How, how what do they do? They don’t have the option,” Biden said.
Between the lines: The interview represents a strategic effort by the president to communicate to young voters about various social issues ahead of the midterms.
- NowThis has a significant social media presence, with over 80 million followers across its Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram accounts. The majority of its followers across TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat are under 35.
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Biden Signs Executive Order In Attempt To Help Low
The directive comes in the wake of the historic overturning of Roe v. Wade.
President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed an executive order that his administration says will help low-income people pay for abortion services if they have to travel out of state to obtain them.
The order, according to administration officials, paves the way for Medicaid to cover abortion-related costs for people who have traveled from states where their abortion is banned to states where it is not.
But Biden and other officials on Wednesday provided few details about how the change would work — or a timeline for it to be implemented.
“Today, I’m signing the second executive order that responds to the health care crisis that has unfolded since the Supreme Court overturned Roe and that women are facing all across America,” he said at a White House event.
It remained unclear how this change to Medicaid coverage would avoid legal run-ins with the Hyde Amendment, a federal law that prohibits federal government dollars from being spent on abortion except in cases of rape, incest and to save the pregnant person’s life.
Already, people covered by Medicaid have extremely limited abortion coverage in 34 states and the District of Columbia, while just 16 states use their own funds to aid abortion coverage under Medicaid.
What Programs Does The Hyde Amendment Affect
Initially, the Hyde Amendment only affected funding for abortions under Medicaid, a state and federal health program for low-income individuals. Because Congress reauthorizes the Hyde Amendment annually as an attachment to the appropriations bill for HHS, it also restricts abortion funding under the Indian Health Service, Medicare, and the Childrens Health Insurance Program. Over the years, language similar to that in the Hyde Amendment has been incorporated into a range of other federal programs that provide or pay for health services to women including: the militarys TRICARE program, federal prisons, the Peace Corps, and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. The Affordable Care Act also included a provision that applied similar abortion coverage limitations to plans that are sold through the Marketplace for women who receive federal income-based subsidies to purchase private health insurance.
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What’s Happening With Obamacare
Mr Biden on Thursday signed an order to reopen the Affordable Care Act – also known as Obamacare – federal insurance marketplace for three months.
Under Mr Trump, the enrolment period lasted just six weeks, as the Republican administration sought to dismantle the programme.
Mr Biden said that with the ongoing “Covid crisis”, now was the time to reinstate access to healthcare and affordable programmes.
Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi praised the expansion in a weekly briefing, saying: “We’re very excited about that because we’re of course in the middle of a pandemic and we see this was a matter of life and death.”
Mr Biden’s directive also mandates agencies look into policies that may reduce coverage in the Medicaid healthcare programme for low-income Americans. This includes a measure created under the Trump administration that allows states to impose work requirements on aid-seekers.
The president has also ordered a re-examination of policies that hurt protections for patients with pre-existing conditions and any measures that undermine the federal insurance marketplace or enrolment.
Are American Taxpayers Paying For Abortion
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In a fiery exchange with Chuck Todd on last Sunday’s Meet the Press, Carly Fiorina stated repeatedly that American taxpayers are paying for abortion. This may puzzle casual observers who are under the impression that for decades, the Hyde Amendment has somehow protected taxpayers who oppose abortions from having to pay for them. So what’s the truth?
This week’s passage of a continuing resolution to avert a potential government shut-down over the issue of Planned Parenthood funding now has shifted what may be a knock-down-drag-out fight over that issue until December 11. For readers wishing to get better informed in advance of both that debate as well as candidate debates in the weeks ahead, I thought a brief primer was in order.
As best I can determine, taxpayers subsidize roughly 24% of all abortion costs in the U.S. with 6.6% borne by federal taxpayers and the remaining 17.4% picked up by state taxpayers. If we apply the 24% figure to the total number of abortions, this is equivalent to taxpayers paying the full cost of 250,000 abortions a year, with about 70,000 financed by federal taxpayers and 180,000 financed by state taxpayers
These figures are very rough but certainly are more accurate than subjective guesses on either side of this fierce debate. Here’s how I arrive at them.
Background
Reality #1: Direct Federal Payment is Allowed for Abortions Under Relatively Rare Circumstances
Reality #2: Some States Taxpayers Unequivocally Pay for Abortions
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Are My Tax Dollars Paying For Abortion
Federal, state and local funds can be used to either pay directly for abortions, or to subsidize abortions through supporting abortion providers, or by subsidizing health insurance plans. Tax-funding of abortion dramatically increases the amount of abortions. Below are some commonly-asked questions.
What has the Supreme Court said about it?
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled consistently that there is no right to financial assistance in obtaining an abortion. Furthermore, governments can choose to fund or promote pregnancy/childbirth without having to equally fund abortions.
What is the Hyde Amendment? Can federal tax dollars pay for abortions?
Since 1977, an annual budget rider called the Hyde Amendment has been signed into law prohibiting federal payments through Medicaid for most abortions. Exceptions include ending pregnancies when the mothers life is in danger, and since 1993 abortions in the case of rape, or incest. Other health programs that provide direct care are usually restricted from providing abortions services. The 2021 pandemic relief bill notably didnt include the Hyde Amendment.
What is the Mexico City Policy?
Do state tax dollars pay for abortions?
Does Planned Parenthood use taxpayer money on abortions?
Does Obamacare fund abortion?
Can government employee insurance plans fund abortions?
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Say It With Us Now: Most Federal Funding Is Through Medicaid Reimbursements For Preventive Health Care
To really understand what federal funds pay for at Planned Parenthood, you first need to know that federal tax dollars dont pay for abortions. A decades-old, unfair law already prohibits that .
Again, most federal funding comes to Planned Parenthood in the form of reimbursements through Medicaid, the government-funded health insurance plan for people with low incomes.
Just like other kinds of health insurance, Medicaid reimburses Planned Parenthoods doctors and nurses for the preventive medical services they provide, including life-saving cancer screenings, HIV testing, and birth control. There are no special favors here.
The majority of federal funds come through Planned Parenthood health centers via reimbursements for the medical services that they provide to patients who either have Medicaid coverage or qualify for other publicly funded health care programs .
Planned Parenthoods health centers also get federal funds for delivering vital services through Title X, the nations family planning program funds that can only be used to support family planning health care.
Planned Parenthood serves 1.5 million of Title Xs over 4 million patients each year, helping people who often dont have access to family planning care anywhere else. Without Planned Parenthood, many of these patients wouldnt get the health care they need to take control of their lives.
In talking about funding, its important to note that:
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State-by-state financial data on publicly-funded abortions is lacking but national statistics show that only a fraction of Medicaid dollars goes toward them. According to the Guttmacher Institute, Medicaid covered slightly more than 157,000 abortions nationwide in 2015 and almost all were in states that use their own funds to cover the cost. By my estimate, this amounts to .02% of all Medicaid expenditures that year.
What Can I Do To Reduce Taxpayer Funding Of Abortions
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Does The Hyde Amendment Affect Planned Parenthood Patients
The Hyde Amendment affects all of Planned Parenthoods 2.4 million patients, but it directly hurts the 60% of Planned Parenthood patients who rely on public health programs like Medicaid for preventive and primary care. The Hyde Amendment blocks those patients from using their public health benefits for abortion care.
What Might Happen If We Take All Federal Funding From Planned Parenthood
We would have fewer abortions. And maybe even fewer unintended pregnancies.
But removing federal funding allows the states to pick up the slack. And we have seen this exact thing happen.
Last year, several states began giving taxpayer money to PP for family planning services. These states include Illinois, Hawaii, Maryland, Vermont, Oregon, Washington, California, Massachusetts, and New York. They did so because Trump mandated that Title X money could not pay for abortions, and as PP refused to stop doing abortions, it was not allowed to receive Title X money.
- Hawaii budgeted $750,000 to help cover the loss of Title X money.
- New Jerseys governor signed legislation to give $9.5 million for family planning to Planned Parenthood.
- The governor of Massachusetts authorized up to $8 million.
- Californias Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted to cover the expected loss for six local Planned Parenthood clinics, amounting to nearly half a million dollars.
- Pennsylvania proposed budgeting $3 million for its Planned Parenthood clinics.
But do we really need Planned Parenthood clinics? The US has nearly 1,400 federally qualified health centers and 12,409 federally qualified health center service sites. All do the same things PP doesexcept abortions. Meanwhile, PP has about 575 clinics.
People dont need Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood needs people.
Yet PP doesnt just make its money killing babies: it sometimes makes its money fraudulently.
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What Would Be The Impact On Abortion Coverage If The Hyde Restrictions Were Lifted
Figure 4: In 2019, 56% of Reproductive Age Women on Medicaid Lived in a State that Followed Hyde Amendment Standards
Removing the Hyde amendment from the appropriations bill would not automatically grant abortion coverage to women covered under other programs with Hyde-like restrictions. In order for women in the Peace Corps, federal employees, and others who are receiving federally funded health benefits to obtain abortion coverage, the Hyde-like provisions would need to be lifted from the Congressionally approved appropriations bills that fund those federal programs. For women covered by Indian Health Services, TRICARE, or Veteran Affairs to obtain abortion coverage, additional congressional action would be required to repeal the authorizing laws .
Despite higher shares of women with private insurance and Medicaid resulting from the coverage expansions established by the ACA, coverage for abortion services remains limited. While the removal of the Hyde Amendment could broaden this abortion coverage for millions of low-income women who receive federally subsidized health coverage, the true impact of such a policy change would vary by program and state. Forty years after the first time the Hyde Amendment was first applied to a federal appropriations bill, the law is still being debated, reflecting the persistently polarized nature of the abortion debate in the United States.
How Federal Funding Works At Planned Parenthood
Does the Government Fund Planned Parenthood?
With all the talk in Washington these days about defunding Planned Parenthood, you might think theres a specific, Planned Parenthood line item in the federal budget that Congress and the president can just zero out.
Turns out, nothing could be further from the truth.
Most of Planned Parenthoods federal funding is from Medicaid reimbursements for preventive care, and some is from Title X. Theres no keep-Planned-Parenthood-running part of the federal budget.
Heres where defunding comes in:
At least 60% of Planned Parenthood patients rely on public health programs like Medicaid and Title X for their preventive and primary care. So, when you hear extreme politicians talking about defunding Planned Parenthood, they really mean blocking patients who rely on public health care programs from getting their care at Planned Parenthood centers patients like Casey.
Legislation that defunds Planned Parenthood immediately blocks patients like Casey from accessing care at Planned Parenthood health centers.
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Are You Seeking An Abortion
If you are currently facing an unexpected pregnancy, we encourage you to visit Womens Resource Medical Centers of Southern Nevada. We will confirm your pregnancy with free and confidential pregnancy testing. If you receive a positive result, you will then qualify for a no-cost ultrasound. Other facilities in our area charge up to $100 for an ultrasound. In addition, we can sit down and talk about your options, including abortion.
Hyde Has Exacerbated Health And Economic Inequities
Hyde has compounded health and economic inequities across the country. This is particularly true for the 7.8 million women of reproductive age, half of whom are women of color, enrolled in Medicaid in the 34 states that do not provide comprehensive coverage of abortion. As a result, approximately 1 in 4 women on Medicaid who seek abortion are instead forced to give birth.
The Hyde Amendments prohibition of federal funds for abortion except in limited circumstances was first applied to the Medicaid program, targeting the poorest Americans from the beginning. Congress eventually acted to expand the reach of the prohibition to others insured under federal government programs, including federal employees, Peace Corps volunteers, and members of the military. The restrictions also apply to the more than 900,000 women of reproductive age enrolled in Medicare. The majority of these women are dual eligible individuals, in that they are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. For women of reproductive age, this population can include those with end-stage renal disease or disabilities.
Research has shown that those who are denied a desired abortion are more likely to fall into poverty, face unemployment, and have worse health outcomes, magnifying Hydes harms. These repercussions can have an intergenerational impact, as the majority of those who seek abortion care are already mothers.
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