Planned Parenthood of the Heartland filed a lawsuit in federal court Friday morning against John Selig, director of the Arkansas Department of Human Services, over his termination of the health care organization’s Medicaid contract.
In a court filing, Planned Parenthood claims that “Medicaid enrollees may seek family planning and other preventative health services from a participating provider of their choice and have those services covered by Medicaid.”
Planned Parenthood, which has filed similar lawsuits against the states of Alabama and Louisiana, is asking U.S. District Judge Kristine G. Baker for an injunction to stop the state from ending its contract. The state’s termination would go into effect Sunday.
Selig canceled the contract after being directed to do so by Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
“Our message today to Gov. Hutchinson is very clear,” Suzanna de Baca, chief executive of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, said Friday at a news conference in Little Rock. “Please put politics aside and protect women’s access to health care at Planned Parenthood.”
According to the lawsuit, the organization claims that the state has violated the Medicaid Act and the First and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantee free speech and equal protection under the law.
The suit “is no surprise,” Hutchinson said in a statement Friday. “We will review the lawsuit and respond appropriately.”
The Republican has maintained that the state has the right to cancel its Medicaid contract with Planned Parenthood as long as a 30-day notice is provided. He has said other qualified providers surround the two Planned Parenthood clinics in Arkansas, and no one would lose access to care.
The clinics, in Fayetteville and Little Rock, offer medication-induced abortions, testing for sexually transmitted diseases, contraception and other services. They served about 4,000 patients in fiscal 2014. One in four were on Medicaid, de Baca said.
The state Medicaid program paid Planned Parenthood $241,554 in fiscal 2010 for family-planning services, $168,993 in 2011, $127,673 in 2012, $139,864 in 2013, $139,456 in 2014 and $51,429 in 2015.
Hutchinson cut ties with the organization after the anti-abortion group Center for Medical Progress released edited clips of conversations with Planned Parenthood executives, doctors and staff members in other states talking about how much money the organization would receive for providing various fetal body parts for medical research.
“Notwithstanding the lawsuit, I remain satisfied that we did the right thing to reflect Arkansas values,” the governor said.
Federal officials have backed up several claims in Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit.
In an Aug. 17 email obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, Jessica Schubel, a senior adviser to the director of the Center on Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program Services, told Dawn Stehle, the Arkansas Medicaid director, and several others that states have an “obligation to ensure beneficiaries have freedom of choice of provider.”
The U.S. Department of Justice is also challenging Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s attempt to end Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast’s contract with his state’s Medicaid program. Federal officials said the state removed the provider from its Medicaid program without cause.
However, the Jindal administration has changed tactics, The Associated Press reported. On Friday, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals cited Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast’s $4.3 million settlement of false-claim allegations in neighboring Texas as a reason to kill its Louisiana Medicaid contract.
At Friday’s news conference, de Baca said her organization is fighting against teen pregnancy in Arkansas, which has the highest rate in the nation, and sexually transmitted diseases.
“These are serious issues for the state of Arkansas, and by attempting to cancel Planned Parenthood’s contract, Gov. Hutchinson is blocking women and men from care at Planned Parenthood health centers and, frankly, is making these issues worse,” she said.
Sen. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock, said at the news conference that the state was flouting the rule of law by canceling the contract.
“I’d like to ask our governor to please keep that in mind and let us not be bullied by misinformation and distractions and use those things to come between people who need health care,” she said. “I do demand being logical and thoughtful and fair … and this is an action that is pointless.”