Attorney General Bonta: Patients Should Choose Trusted Medical Providers, Not Politicians

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a statement following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Planned Parenthood South Atlantic v. Medina denying Medicaid recipients' individual right to receive care from the qualified providers of their choice, including Planned Parenthood. In a 6-3 opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Medicaid beneficiaries do not have a private right of action to obtain assistance from any institution that is “qualified to perform the service or services required” under the Medicaid Act’s free-choice-of-provider provision  because the any-qualified-provider provision, passed by Congress, does not clearly and unambiguously confer individual rights enforceable under §1983. The case began when the state of South Carolina unlawfully terminated Planned Parenthood South Atlantic’s (Planned Parenthood) participation in Medicaid only because the organization performed abortions outside of the Medicaid program. As a result of the termination, Planned Parenthood immediately had to begin turning away Medicaid patients.

“Congress expressly granted patients the right to choose a qualified doctor or provider they trust while seeking medical care. Today’s decision got it wrong: It strips choice out of the hands of patients, and allows politicians to block patients from making their own decisions about their own healthcare,” said Attorney General Bonta. “The impacts of this decision are likely to harm real people, especially low-income residents of South Carolina and other Medicaid beneficiaries who turn to Planned Parenthood for critical services, including physical exams, pregnancy testing and counseling, and screening for conditions such as diabetes, depression, and high blood pressure. In California, we will continue to defend patients’ access to choose providers they trust, including qualified providers like Planned Parenthood.”  

As part of a coalition of 17 attorneys general, Attorney General Bonta previously filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of Medicaid recipients' individual right to receive care from the qualified providers of their choice, including Planned Parenthood.