Planned Parenthood closing Longmont clinic, cites effects of Affordable Care Act

The Longmont Planned Parenthood health center will close in August.

The Longmont center will be one of six to close in the region. Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains spokeswoman Whitney Phillips said the closures are due to a tough financial landscape in the reproductive health care field, specifically due to the effects of the Affordable Care Act.

"We supported (the ACA) because we love the idea of more people having health insurance and increasing access to the critical services that they need, but a lot of our patients were self-pay," Phillips said. "They would come in and get a Pap smear and pay out of pocket. Under the ACA, a lot of patients were given the opportunity to be on Medicaid. Again, that's wonderful, but it meant that rather than bill them directly, we had to bill Medicaid. And Medicaid reimburses at a very low rate."

Phillips said this changed how Planned Parenthood does business and changed the way the organization was able to get reimbursements from insurance companies.

Planned Parenthood centers in Parker; Casper, Wyo.; Albuquerque, N.M.; Rio Rancho, N.M., and Farmington, N.M., will also close.

Read more: http://www.timescall.com/longmont-local-news/ci_30999561/longmont-planned-parenthood-one-six-region-close