Democrats call for investigation after Texas moves to cut Planned Parenthood from Medicaid
WASHINGTON–Texas Democrats are fighting a move by state officials to cut the last few taxpayer dollars going to Planned Parenthood clinics in the state. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston called the action “awful and shameful,” as well as illegal Wednesday, asking for a federal investigation into the state’s reasoning for cutting off the women’s health care provider.
The Office of Inspector General, responsible for investigating fraud for the state’s health agency,announced Monday that Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid contracts would be terminated based on conversations in an undercover video of a Houston abortion clinic, released in August.
Jackson Lee said that means the state would be excluding the provider because of the range of medical services provided, which is prohibited by law. She has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate what she calls an easy win.
“You cannot deny reimbursements, closing facilities, because you don’t like the services,” Jackson Lee said. “I think this will be easy to determine. It is a clear mandate by the law that what the state of Texas is doing is wrong.”
Read more: http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2015/10/democrats-call-for-investigation-after-texas-moves-to-cut-planned-parenthood-from-medicaid.html/
