Thomas Jipping
Any Supreme Court case involving Planned Parenthood is likely to attract attention, and Medina v. Planned Parenthood, argued on April 2, is no exception.
But this case’s implications go far beyond Planned Parenthood. The court’s decision could open the door even wider for lawsuits against any number of federal spending programs.
In this case, Planned Parenthood sued South Carolina over its decision to disqualify abortion clinics from participating in the Medicaid program.
Created by Congress in 1965, Medicaid provides federal financial assistance to states that, in turn, reimburse providers of medical services for lower-income individuals. The federal government sets eligibility requirements and standards for state Medicaid plans, reviews them for compliance, and provides funds for the plans that pass.
The Medicaid Act requires that state Medicaid plans allow beneficiaries to obtain medical services “from any institution, agency, community pharmacy, or person, qualified to perform the service or services required.”
A Pro-Life Progress Report for the 118th Congress
In 2018, the governor of South Carolina issued an executive order terminating existing Medicaid enrollment agreements—and prohibiting future ones—for abortion clinics, with the goal of avoiding subsidizing the abortions they provide. Planned Parenthood and a Medicaid-eligible woman seeking contraceptive services sued, arguing that this order violated the Medicaid Act’s free-choice-of-provider provision.
Specifically, they sued under a federal statute (42 U.S.C. §1983) that allows lawsuits for the “deprivation of any rights…secured by the Constitution and laws” by anyone acting “under the color of” state law.
South Carolina objected, arguing that the Medicaid Act’s provider provision did not confer a “right” that could be enforced by this kind of lawsuit. The case came before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit three times and, each time, the court concluded that the provision does in fact confer a right to choose among qualified health care providers, » Read More
https://www.heritage.org/courts/commentary/are-federal-spending-laws-subject-private-lawsuits-scotus-decide