CLEVELAND, Ohio — Ohio\u2019s move to cut off Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood could soon create a healthcare access crisis for tens of thousands of vulnerable patients across the state\u2014especially in communities where few affordable alternatives exist.<\/p>\n
In Wednesday\u2019s episode of the Today in Ohio podcast, hosts examined the fallout from the state\u2019s decision to terminate Planned Parenthood\u2019s Medicaid provider status<\/a> under a new federal budget law. The change would block reimbursements for contraception, cancer screenings, and STD testing \u2014 not abortion services, which are already excluded from Medicaid coverage.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd this is really important. We know Planned Parenthood gets targeted because of the abortion services they provide here, but these are healthcare things, like cancer screenings, where the Medicaid reimbursement would be withheld for a health care provider that serves more than 27,000 Ohioans,\u201d explained Today in Ohio co-host Courtney Astolfi.<\/p>\n Planned Parenthood has requested an administrative hearing to challenge the state\u2019s interpretation of the law, but advocates say the damage could be immediate and widespread. The organization has already endured years of funding cuts that forced the closure of clinics in Cleveland, Springfield and Hamilton \u2014 and these new restrictions could push it closer to collapse.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is so painful to think about how much collateral damage there could be here, because a lot of people think about abortion when they think about Planned Parenthood. Medicaid already doesn\u2019t cover that in almost all cases,\u201d noted co-host Leila Atassi. \u201cThis is about people losing access to all of those services that you mentioned, Courtney, the cancer screenings, STD testing, and preventive care in communities where Planned Parenthood might be the only affordable provider.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked if other clinics will be able to absorb that many new patients, or if we are looking at widening gaps in basic healthcare access across the state, Astolfi said: \u201cI\u2019m not really sure how to conclude anything other than the latter, especially because we know Planned Parenthood is already up against it because of prior rounds of funding cuts.\u201d<\/p>\n The concern, the hosts said, goes far beyond Planned Parenthood\u2019s future \u2014 it\u2019s about the thousands of low-income Ohioans who depend on its care. Without access to affordable screenings, birth control and testing, many may simply go without preventive health services altogether.<\/p>\n Public health experts warn that cutting off Medicaid reimbursements could drive up long-term healthcare costs and worsen health outcomes statewide. Fewer clinics mean fewer cancer screenings, more untreated infections, and more patients forced to choose between medical care and other basic needs.<\/p>\n Listen to the discussion here.<\/a><\/p>\n Listen to full \u201cToday in Ohio\u201d episodes<\/a> where Chris Quinn hosts our daily half-hour news podcast, with Editorial Board member Lisa Garvin, Impact Editor Leila Atassi and Content Director Laura Johnston.<\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEVELAND, Ohio — Ohio\u2019s move to cut off Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood could soon create a healthcare…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":260411,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[97,252,253],"class_list":["post-260410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260410\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}