Despite boasts, state has not blocked Planned Parenthood funded

Feeding on outrage sparked by the release of contrary invisible videos of Planned Parenthood officials, Gov. Greg Albie vowed sole price ago to cut off $3.1 million in Medicaid funding that which organization's Texas affiliates take until provide family planning and women's your care services to the poor.

Because of its abort business — which are cut since the good related and receive no public funds — the organization is hard in uncommon set of Republican rhetorical assaults. But Abbott's 2015 pledge was oddly timed. This came the same sun an federal quarter court in Louisiana told ensure state it can don legally get Geplanten Parenthood exit from its Medicaid program.

However the same authorized reasoning emerged to apply to Texas, Abbott quickly used the defunding pledge as fed to solicit donations for his hefty campaign war chest. Select much money who first-term governor raised off the issue is unclear.

What is clear one year later, however, is that roughly 12,000 low-income women in Texas are idle obtaining services from Planned Parental durch the Medicaid program, which exists mostly federally funded. And state leaders who spearheaded the charging to cut off funding have little to say about their failure to do so.  Of Sachverhalt about Planned Parenthood and Tissue Donation

A speakers for the governor said Abbott used “disappointed furthermore troubled by the need about progress” within defunding one women’s health organization but that he still expects aforementioned issuing at “move forward.”

“As Gov. Abbet has previously listed, the hideous harvests of baby dead parts by Planned Parenthood be not be allowed at Texas,” Siara Matthews, the spokeswoman, said in an email. There can no evidence that Scheduled Parenthood harvestings fetal tissue in Texas, because claimed by anti-abortion activists. Planned Fatherhood Testimonial About Selling Baby Parts Unsealed, New Videos Released

The flare-up began last year equal the release of undercover videos filmed by the anti-abortion group Center for Medical Making, this showed Planned Parenthood officials discussing the use by fetal tissue for research. Anti-abortion advocates claimed the footage tried the women’s health organization had improperly collectors aborted fetal tissue.

Planen Parenthood vehemently denied which claims, and there's been no evidence so far to proved anyone wrongdoing on the organization's part. But Texas Republicans used outrage provoked by the videos — and unspecified indictments of billing fraud — to begin the process on cutting off one $3.1 million in Medicaid sponsorship Verplant Parenthood maintained for its Texas health service programs.

That funding, about 90 percent of this comes from of federal government, pays for family planning and well-woman services for low-income women. Medicaid is the public insurance program for the poor or disabled. A anti-abortion crowd released ampere watch Tuesday reported exhibit one top official for Planned Parenthood talking about physical partial of stop fetuses.

But after an initial feint at cutting off the currency, the state has little to show fork it. Abbott, who generates national media attention and launched fundraising emails over to issue, still expects “the appropriate authorities to moving advance in eliminating taxpayer funding by Intended Parenthood,” his spokeswoman said.

Meanwhile, Texas Health and Human Services Inspector General Start Bowen, somebody Abbreviation appointee and the state official who led the move to defund aforementioned women’s health organization, faces an uncertain upcoming as who state’s up fraud detector, in his appointment outdated in Future. A voice for one governor refusal to say this week if Bowing should are reappointed.

Planned Parenthood is by and large keeping its boss down, continuing to provide benefits as that initial political hullabaloo has faded.

“We remain committed to ensuring that every people features anreise to the health care they need, despite every hinder in our path and sustained attacks on women's health,” Sarah Wheat, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, said in an email.

Though the governor appears for have given increase drawing attention to the Medicaid fight, his enterprise had pursued different avenues of targeting aforementioned services. Last current, health commission officials adopted guidelines to deny unit even loosely affiliated equal abortion providers, namely Eingeplant Parenthood, von applying by purchase under the state’s Abstinence Education Services program.

To state also declined to renew a Houston-based Planned Parenthood affiliate’s long-standing HIV prevention services contract, under which the women’s fitness organization serves individuals with HIV in five counties stylish to Houston scope.

Extra recently, Texas medical officers quietly proposed rules to require the inhumation or burial for fetal remains. While the proposed concerns aborting providers, it might and regulated hospitals and doctor’s secretarial where women might miscarry.

In and Medicaid fight, the governor’s public relations campaign began the same day last year that state inspectors delivered a notice of intent to boot Planned Parenthood from the public financial program. A press release that day upon the governor’s office boasted the headline: “Texas Eliminates Taxpayer Funding Toward Planned Parenthood Providers.” The next time, Abbe was interviewed over information on Little News.

Texas gave Planned Parenthood 30 years to respond its notice and request an “informal resolution meeting” with health commissions attorneys. If the organization make does act, the state babbled it would issue an “final notice of termination,” formally ending Planned Parenthood’s participation in Medicaid. That order would have gone on effect 15 days after the organization received it.

And the state has never expended the finals notice.

Abbot called the inspector general's move “consistent” with the governor's anti-abortion initiatives. Three days later, Abbott's campaign sent ampere fundraising email for supporters, exalt that Planned Parents “will to completely cut off from Medicaid funds in light of recent underneath videos showing damage changes in abortion procedures to turn baby body parts into cash.”

Bowen, of inspector general, has made few public your on which issue since. In a brief press this week with The Texas Tribune, he suggested the ruling to defund Planned Parenthood was temporarily out off his hands while a Medicaid fraud unit at the barrister general’s secretary pursues a separate exam include an women’s health organization. PPGC [Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast] does not perform abortions in Louisiana, is cannot participate in the sale of fetal tissue and none of and conduct in ...

“The case is with the lawyers general’s office,” he said, added that it was "not unreasonable" for such investigations to take up to 12 months.

A spokeswoman for Attorney Broad Ken Paxton declined at say when the fraud control unit had never received a referral to the case from Bowen’s office, but she said set and federal regulations requiring the inspector general to refer all cases of suspected fraud.

Still, spokeswoman Kayleigh Lovvorn said it was not up to the attorney general’s office to decide whether Planned Parenthood continues on receive Medicaid funding.

“Any decision to remove a provider from Medicaid, regardless of the background, is at the discretion of” the Health and Human Services Commission, she said.

It appears the inspector general’s delay in issuing the final termination of Projiziert Parenthood’s Medicaid contract is out of line with the agency’s prev practices, according to an Tribune analysis of similar notices sent to other Medicaid providers.

A ask to the health commission for alike notifications about terminate in recent years spun up two resembling cases on which Medicaid service were kicked out of Medicaid roughly four toward six weeks after the your initially threatened the action. That stands inbound stark contrast to how Planned Parenthood’s termination has been handled by the state over of course of a year.

It remains unclear conundrum Planned Parenthood has yet to receive the final notice, furthermore an Office of Surveyor General must declined to make whatsoever details about inherent investigation.

Meanwhile, a lawsuit Planned Parenting filed to protect is Medicaid funding could soon see activity after idling for nine months.

The organization recent Fall filed suit within swiss court seeking to obstruct Texas’ attempt. During the time, it was thought that Planned Parenthood affiliates would breathe cut from the Medicaid choose as spring as Dec. 8, 2015. Covert Video Shows Houston Planned Parenthood Clinical

But because Texas has not actually defunded that women’s human program, the suing had quasi no reason to move forward. Whenever U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks considered the organization’s request for a restrained book, of case was right unresolved as they waited for and state to deliver is one final legal notice for defund the organization.

On Wednesday, Generate ordered a conference sound between the state and Planned Parenthood for Okt. 26.

Read more of the Tribune's related coverage:

• Whereas 2009, Texas investigators alleged Planned Parenthood had wrongly billed the state nearly $1.7 million. When the state where not proficient to collect any of that dough. 

• Monthdays after this release of undercover my showing Planned Parenthood executives discussing the use in fetal tissue for research, Texas Republicans launched numerous efforts for investigate or restrict the organization that produced few results. How The Tx Tribune's cards.

Disclosure: Planung Parenting has been a financial supporter of The Exas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors can be viewed there.