In just three years, nearly $2 billion in taxpayer funding was sent to three abortion organizations, according to a review that was published in December 2020 by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) — Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Marie Stopes International (now MSI Reproductive Services), and International Planned Parenthood Federation.
The GAO is an independent, non-partisan “congressional watchdog” which works for Congress. Part of the GAO’s job is to examine how taxpayer dollars are spent. It determined that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) “provided the vast majority of federal funding to the organizations.”
Key report takeaways:
- Despite Planned Parenthood’s multiple abuses, fraud, and reports of racism from current and former employees, Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) received $1.6 billion in federal taxpayer dollars from HHS from 2016-2018, averaging $533 million per year ($304 million through grants or cooperative agreements and $1.3 billion from Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP).
- International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) received nearly $21 million in federal tax dollars from HHS and USAID combined ($15M from USAID and $6M from HHS).
- MSI Reproductive Services (MSI) received $86.5 million from USAID.
Over $124 million federal taxpayer dollars from Medicaid and CHIP (part of HHS) went to four other domestic regional abortion providers: Family Planning Associates, American Women’s Services, All Women’s Health Center, and Whole Woman’s Health. Three of these reportedly confirmed receiving a portion of the funding.
The HHS budget is now under the control of the Biden Administration. If confirmed by the Senate, HHS will be headed by Biden’s choice for HHS secretary, Xavier Becerra, who has no background in health care and is known for his ardent support of Planned Parenthood and hostility toward the pro-life movement. In mid-January, Biden nominated former United Nations Ambassador Samantha Power to lead USAID.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America and affiliates
PPFA affiliate-level data revealed its affiliates received approximately $304 million in federal funds (through grants or cooperative agreements from 2016-2018) and approximately $1.3 billion in federal payments from Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP (parts of the Department of Health and Human Services) from 2016-2018. Title X funding was not itemized in the GAO report.
Planned Parenthood Mar Monte received the highest amounts from Medicare/Medicaid/CHIP at over $200 million. Other notable affiliates received the following amounts: Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest – over $137 million, Planned Parenthood of Orange & San Bernardino Counties – over $131 million, and Planned Parenthood Los Angeles – over $108 million.
“Medicaid and CHIP payments to PPFA are funded with both state and federal funds, and the state share of this approximately $1.3 billion could be sizeable,” wrote the GAO. “With certain exceptions, the federal government matches a portion of each state’s Medicaid and CHIP expenditures, and the matching rates can vary depending on a variety of factors, such as the state involved, the services being provided, or the populations served.”
The GAO was unable to break down the total of Medicaid and CHIP payments made with federal funds. “[W]e contacted two state Medicaid agencies and asked them whether they could review claims paid to PPFA affiliates and estimate of the total federal share of such payments. Both indicated that it is difficult to determine the state and federal shares for services provided by a particular provider, in part because significant shares of patients in their states were enrolled in Medicaid managed care plans.”
According to a 2018 GAO report, from 2013-2015, Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood totaled over $1.2 billion, averaging $400 million per year. This means that between the reporting ranges of 2013-2015 and 2016-2018, Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood increased by 8.33%.
Marie Stopes International/MSI Reproductive Choices (MSI)
MSI received approximately $86.5 million in federal funding from USAID through grants or cooperative agreements.
In fiscal year 2018, both MSI and IPPF declined to accept the terms and conditions of awards from either HHS or USAID and publicly stated that they would not be able to meet the conditions of the 2017 Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance (PLGHA) policy, which required foreign nongovernmental organizations to agree not to commit or actively promote abortion, the GAO noted.
According to USAID and HHS officials, when an organization declines to agree to the PLGHA policy, it can no longer receive U.S. global health assistance obligations.
Currently, the Hyde Amendment prevents federal taxpayer dollars from paying for most abortions, but state dollars can and do fund abortion. Though the federal government establishes parameters for states to follow, each state administers its Medicaid program differently. The Biden Administration has vowed to eliminate Hyde and force taxpayers to fund abortion on demand.
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