Obama Administration Denies Funding for Texas Women’s Health Care Program

The Obama Administration announced yesterday it is denying a waiver filed by Texas to keep the state’s Women’s Health Program funded amid dispute over Planned Parenthood funding.

The federal government is denying providing Medicaid funding for the program because Texas refuses to recognize Planned Parenthood as a qualified provider of women’s healthcare services. Governor Rick Perry earlier this week maintained that it was unconstitutional to require Texas to recognize the organization. Federal law mandates that it is up to the states to discern the criteria that qualifies an organization to receive Medicaid funds.

The full statement from Governor Rick Perry’s Communications Director Allison Castle is below.

The fact that the Obama Administration would announce its decision to deny care for more than 100,000 low income women during a press event before giving official notice to the state is a clear demonstration of the political motivation behind this decision. This tactic is an affront to the more than 100,000 women served by this program.

We await official word from the Administration on this matter and in the meantime, at Gov. Perry’s direction, the state continues to move forward to ensure low-income women will not lose access to this preventative care. Gov. Perry will continue to fight this egregious federal overreach and defend life, our state’s laws and the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution."

Texas law prohibits the allowance of tax dollars to fund abortion providers and affiliates. The state was awaiting official notification of the waiver denial late Friday afternoon. Perry told the state medical board earlier this week to find a way to continue funding the program, which provides breast and cervical cancer screenings to low-income women.