Representative Phil Gingrey (R-GA) has filed an amendment to H.R. 1 that would prevent the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from implementing a provision of the Affordable Care Act that made it easier for states to make more women eligible for family planning services under Medicaid and guaranteed that all new benchmark plans covered family planning services. Known as the Medicaid Family Planning State Option, this provision has already expanded access to family planning services for women in several states—and has the potential to help even more.
Representative Gingrey's amendment, part of the new war on contraception being waged by Republican leaders in the House, will eliminate birth control for those already covered under the new Medicaid Family Planning State Option and would deny the potential for millions more to get the care they need.
Update: This amendment to H.R. 1 was filed but never formally offered for a vote.
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The Gingrey Amendment Would Deny Birth Control Coverage to Millions
Two states—Wisconsin and South Carolina—have already expanded eligibility for family planning services under their state's Medicaid program through the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid Family Planning State Option. The Gingrey Amendment could result in individuals already covered under this new provision being dropped from their Medicaid programs—and losing the family planning services they depend on.
In addition, several more states—California, Ohio, and New Mexico—have already applied for a State Plan Amendment under the Medicaid Family Planning State Option. If the Gingrey Amendment passes, millions of people in these states and potentially others could be denied access to contraception care and other basic preventive services.
The Gingrey Amendment Is Part of the New War on Contraception that Has Been Waged by House Republican Leadership
This amendment is part of a coordinated effort by House Republican leaders to deny woman access to this basic health care: eliminating funding for the Title X family planning program, which has served low-income women for forty years; defunding Planned Parenthood, which serves millions of low-income women a year; and now this. Contraception is basic health care for women and has been used by nearly all American women at some point in their lives. This attack is just one more example of how out-of-touch some Members of Congress are—and how far back they want to take women.
The National Women's Law Center urges you to oppose the Gingrey Amendment. For more information, contact the National Women's Law Center at (202) 588-5180.
