Despite the conflicts in the Senate, you can take action this week to let every state take Medicaid funds away from Planned Parenthood—if they want to. Currently over 20 states have said they want to.
Texas has applied for a Medicaid waiver to allow it to receive federal Medicaid money, but exclude all abortion providers (e.g., Planned Parenthood) from the Medicaid program in its state. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Washington, DC, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, is considering this request. It has opened the waiver request for public comment and will close the comment period next week—on August 4, 2017.
If this waiver gets approved it could open an avenue for every state in the nation to defund Planned Parenthood of Medicaid funds—even if the US Senate does nothing.
Planned Parenthood is scared and is doing everything it can to prevent this Texas Medicaid waiver from being approved.
We ask you to take action as soon as possible:
Contact Tom Price, the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services. We have a PETITION to Secretary Price which has already gathered hundreds of signatures asking him to approve this waiver. We need more signers! Please sign the petition. We will get a list of all the signers to Secretary Price by August 4.
YOUR ACTION NOW will allow states to do what Congress has not yet been able to do—take all Medicaid funds away from Planned Parenthood. If you are frustrated at what is happening in Congress, this is something you can do TODAY to help.