The Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments on Wednesday in a case regarding South Carolina’s effort to defund Planned Parenthood.
Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic concerns whether the federal Medicaid Act confers a “right” to choose a specific medical provider and whether Medicaid patients have a right to sue if they are denied the provider they want. Ultimately, the case could protect states from lawsuits when they disqualify Planned Parenthood or any provider from their Medicaid programs. Senior Counsel and VP of Appellate Advocacy with Alliance Defending Freedom, John J. Bursch, represents South Carolina and called the case “pivotal.”
In 2018, Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and its patient, Julie Edwards, who uses Medicaid, sued South Carolina after it disqualified the abortion giant from its Medicaid program. According to Liberty Counsel, language in the Medicaid Act which states that patients can choose “any qualified provider” indicates that beneficiaries of Medicaid can choose their provider from those the state has deemed to be qualified.
According to Amy Howe’s SCOTUS Blog, “[T]he justices struggled to determine whether the Medicaid law on which Planned Parenthood relies must use specific words to signal that Congress intended to create a private right to enforce it — and, if so, what those words might be.”
During oral arguments, Brusch said, “The state decides who the providers are, who are qualified, and you get to choose among them. And they [South Carolina] decided that Planned Parenthood was unqualified for many reasons, chiefly because they are the nation’s largest abortion provider.”
Planned Parenthood and Edwards, however, argued that Medicaid patients have the ability to use a “qualified provider of their choosing.”
“We have what Congres said here, ‘any individual may obtain care from any qualified and willing provider’, if it said, ‘any individual has the right to obtain care from any qualified and willing provider’ it does the same thing,” argued Nicole Saharsky, attorney for Planned Parenthood. “It’s the exact same effect in terms of placing the limitation on the state.”
According to Spectrum News, several justices raised concerns that if South Carolina is allowed to disqualify Planned Parenthood from Medicaid, it could set a precedent for states to exclude any providers from Medicaid for any reason the states choose.
“You would be depriving thousands of Medicaid recipients’ coverage in a particular state over the fact that an individual has been denied something that the provision says they’re entitled to,” said Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
Meanwhile, Justice Clarence Thomas asked Bursch if the word “right” is “absolutely necessary in order to determine whether or not a right has been created” under the “any qualified provider” provision.
Bursch replied that “if Congress wants to be clear, ‘right’ is the best word, but we would take its functional equivalent” – such as “entitlement” or “privilege.” Bursch also noted that Congress “knows how to clearly confer a private right to choose a provider” when it wants to as it did in the case regarding Federal Nursing Home Reform Act.
The Court is expected to rule on the case no later than June 2025.
