GOP lawmakers renew effort to bar Planned Parenthood from Missouri Medicaid program

After the issue ground legislative work to a halt last year, Missouri Republican lawmakers plan to renew their efforts to bar Planned Parenthood from receiving taxpayer dollars when they return to the state Capitol this week.

More than half a dozen bills have been filed so far that aim to strip abortion providers or their affiliates of participation in the state’s Medicaid program or from receiving public benefits more broadly.

In Missouri, there is only one facility currently remaining where abortions are performed — Reproductive Health Services, affiliated with Planned Parenthood in St. Louis.

Since the mid-90s, lawmakers have attempted to restrict public funds from going to Planned Parenthood, but legislative efforts last year gained new ground when an essential tax on hospitals, nursing homes and pharmacies, known as the federal reimbursement allowance (FRA), was used as leverage.

Read more: https://missouriindependent.com/2022/01/03/lawmakers-renew-effort-to-bar-planned-parenthood-from-missouri-medicaid-program/