When
Louisiana state officials announced their plans to terminate Planned
Parenthood’s state Medicaid contract in late August, they argued that
there were plenty of doctors who could take on the more than 5200
patients the reproductive health organization sees each year in New
Orleans and Baton Rouge.
They even provided a list of those doctors
to the US District Court when Planned Parenthood filed suit against the
state (Planned Parenthood argues that breaking the contract is a
violation of federal law). It’s an impressive 37 pages long, including
1146 Medicaid providers near New Orleans and 864 near Baton Rouge.
But actually reading
their list reveals that very few of those doctors are qualified to give
pelvic exams, provide contraceptives, or administer screenings for STDs
or breast and cervical cancer. The list is actually of every
provider who takes Medicaid in the region—including dentists, along with
anesthesiologists, eye doctors, radiologists, cardiologists,
pharmacies, and nursing homes.
The
Hon. John W. DeGravelles, who will decide whether it is legal for the
state to break their contract with Planned Parenthood, was not amused.
From the court transcript of September 2, 2015:
The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals submitted a revised list of providers
on September 8. This list is much shorter. It includes just 29
providers, 24 of which provide the same range of services as Planned
Parenthood. Only five providers are in Baton Rouge; two have three-week
waits for new patients, and one is not accepting new patients.
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