Cramer: House Passes H.R. 3495 -- Women's Public Health and Safety Act

Press Release

Congressman Kevin Cramer today joined a majority of the U.S. House of Representatives to pass H.R. 3495, the Women's Public Health and Safety Act. The bill would amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to allow for state flexibility regarding excluding providers that provide abortions from receiving state-allocated Medicaid funds. However, this does not apply to cases in which health care providers only participate in the performance of abortions resulting from rape or incest, or where the life of the mother is endangered.

Following the release of several videos by the Center for Medical Progress which allegedly depict Planned Parenthood participating in the sale and trafficking of fetal tissue, several states, including Louisiana and Alabama, attempted to terminate contracts with Planned Parenthood for services covered by Medicaid. These states are currently facing legal battles over whether they can legally exclude certain providers.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has interpreted the "free choice of qualified provider" provision as not permitting states to exclude providers from the program solely on the basis of whether or not they perform elective abortions. The HHS has ruled that, under current law, states are effectively forced to include in their Medicaid program providers who perform elective abortions (with non-federal reimbursements).

"This bill simply increases state's flexibility in determining whether entities that perform elective abortions can participate as providers in their Medicaid programs," said Cramer. "This is fundamentally a states' rights issue."

It is not uncommon for states to exclude certain providers from participating in Medicaid. Providers who committed fraud or certain criminal acts are commonly prevented from participating in the program.

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