The U.S. Supreme Court’s Planned Parenthood decision could limit health care access for Connecticut women, advocates said Thursday, as it opens the door for Congress, now considering the federal budget, to remove Planned Parenthood from Medicaid.
It's devastating for Connecticut women who get care from Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, said state Representative Jillian Gilchrest (D-West Hartford), co-chair of the Reproductive Rights Caucus.
“They provide preventative services, like STI (sexually transmitted infection) treatment and testing, cervical cancer screenings, breast cancer screenings and access to birth control,” she said.
The state pays for the services through Medicaid.
“We currently receive a 90-10 match from the federal government. So, Connecticut would lose out on a significant amount of federal funding,” Gilchrest said.
That would mean the services would only get state money.
“For example, right now the state puts in $500,000 and we receive $4 million from the federal government. So this is a significant hit,” Gilchrest said.
In the meantime, she said state lawmakers want to give more money to Planned Parenthood.
”The state does provide abortion care under Medicaid using state dollars. And so the state can possibly make the policy decision to cover family planning services to ensure the Planned Parenthood of Southern New England can continue providing that care to our residents,” Gilchrest said.
