Defending Choice of Provider for Medicaid Beneficiaries

A case currently pending at the Supreme Court of the United States could have a major impact on access to care for Medicaid patients.  The Medicaid Act has a provision stating that beneficiaries must be able to choose from “any qualified provider” for their care.  Congress wrote this provision because states were forcing Medicaid beneficiaries to go to state affiliated providers like state universities. 

A few years ago, the governor of South Carolina declared that all clinics that provide abortions were unqualified to provide any type of Medicaid services, even though neither federal nor state Medicaid funds could be used for abortion.  Planned Parenthood South Atlantic was deemed unqualified.  Nationwide, Planned Parenthood provided nearly half a million cancer screenings and HPV vaccines per year in 2023, and often works with individuals with low incomes and in rural areas. 

There is a circuit split on the issue of whether the civil rights law 42 USC Section 1983 (“Section 1983”) can be used by Medicaid beneficiaries to enforce the choice of provider provision of the Medicaid Act.  The case of Medina v. Planned Parenthood is pending at SCOTUS and will decide the issue.  Leading 10 partner organizations, ACS CAN filed an amicus curiae brief at SCOTUS, highlighting the importance of Medicaid in disease prevention and treatment, as well as extensive scientific research showing a strong link between access to Medicaid and improved health outcomes, with an emphasis on the critical role Medicaid plays in rural areas. The brief includes original research published by the American Cancer Society and underscores the importance of patients being able to enforce their right by using Section 1983.  Read our press release.