Judge Blocks Medicaid Cuts to Planned Parenthood in Texas

New York Times (Feb. 21, 2017): Judge Blocks Medicaid Cuts to Planned Parenthood in Texas, by Christopher Mele:

On Tuesday, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction preventing Texas from defunding Planned Parenthood finding that the state failed to present credible evidence that Planned Parenthood violated medical or ethical standards.  The judge's decision was based on a three day hearing last January.

Federal courts have enjoined similar state attempts to defund Planned Parenthood in Arkansas, Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Planned Parenthood operates 30 medical centers Texas that serve about 12,500 Medicaid patients.  The Texas law would have prohibited Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid reimbursement for services such as screening and treatment of breast and cervical cancer, contraception counseling, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases and primary health care services.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said that he will appeal the injunction.