Elizabeth New (Hovde) says the state budget keeps making promises it can’t afford

Elizabeth New (Hovde)
Washington Policy Center

Planned Parenthood lost a year of Medicaid funding from the feds in the recent federal budget bill, House Resolution 1. And in Washington state style, Gov. Bob Ferguson has promised not to let the nonprofit feel the pain in Washington state — pain that could amount to more than $11 million. State taxpayers will be on the hook for Planned Parenthood bills without federal contribution, the Washington State Standard reports.  

Medicaid, which provides health coverage to low-income and disabled Americans, is jointly funded by the federal government and states. And the recent federal reform means that when Planned Parenthood seeks reimbursement for services it provides to people on taxpayer-funded Medicaid, reimbursement will come only from state taxpayers. (That’s also how it works for a Medicaid-like program, Apple Health Expansion. That’s a state health insurance program created for people regardless of their immigration status, as undocumented people are ineligible for Medicaid.)

Federal Medicaid dollars already couldn’t pay for abortions except in cases where pregnancy endangers the mother or is the product of rape or incest, but Planned Parenthood offers a host of services that federal funding could go to. Washington state’s Medicaid program, called Apple Health, picks up the tab for abortion services provided by the nonprofit to Medicaid clients. (Undocumented immigrants living in Washington can qualify, too. See more at Northwest Abortion Access Fund.)

The state’s Health Care Authority says of state taxpayer abortion funding, “A person does not need to live in the state for a specific period of time prior to applying for or receiving Apple Health coverage,” and that Apple Health covers abortion for lower-income women at or below 210 percent of the Federal Poverty Level.

In a statement highlighted by the Standard, Ferguson called the funding limitation “cruel” and said that “Washington will step into this temporary gap to ensure women continue to have access to critical health care.” 

All girls and women in the state (and those coming in from out of state), regardless of federal funding, would still have been able to seek abortions, of course. The Ferguson move ensures state taxpayers will backfill the lost federal dollars. 

The state budget keeps making promises it can’t afford. In July, the governor said he would divert money from the state Health Care Authority to pay for the unfunded federal portion of Planned Parenthood services to Medicaid clients.

Elizabeth New (Hovde) is a policy analyst and the director of the Centers for Health Care and Worker Rights at the Washington Policy Center. She is a Clark County resident.

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