Texas temporarily blocked from kicking Planned Parenthood out of Medicaid
by Shannon Najmabadi, Texas Tribune
A state district judge in Travis County has temporarily stopped Texas from kicking Planned Parenthood out of its Medicaid program, after the health provider filed an emergency lawsuit in a bid to keep providing non-abortion services to thousands of low-income patients.
In a last-minute proceeding on Wednesday, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble granted a temporary restraining order and set a hearing for Feb. 17.
The state had given Planned Parenthood's Medicaid patients until Wednesday to find new doctors after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Texas officials who have long sought to block the health provider from participating in the joint federal-state health insurance program for the poor.
It is difficult to qualify for Medicaid in Texas, which has the highest uninsured rate nationwide. A single parent with two children cannot make more than $230 a month.
Read more:
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/02/03/planned-parenthood-texas-medicaid/