Tolbert: Insurance Commissioner Defends State Funds For Planned Parenthood

In case you missed it this week, there was some push back from state legislators when they found out the Arkansas Insurance Department planned to use Planned Parenthood to help enroll Arkansans in insurance programs provided by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act/Obamacare.

The partnership would be part of the “navigators” that the state is mandated to provide under the PPACA.  According to the legislation, the navigators will “conduct public education activities to raise awareness of the availability of qualified health plans, distribute fair and impartial information concerning enrollment in qualified health plans, and the availability of premium tax credits, facilitate enrollment in qualified health plans, provide referrals to any applicable office of health insurance consumer assistance or health insurance ombudsman or any other appropriate State agency or agencies, for any enrollee with a grievance, complaint, or question regarding their health plan, coverage, or a determination under such plan or coverage, and provide information in a manner that is culturally and linguistically appropriate to the needs of the population being served by the Exchange or Exchanges.”

Of course, Bradford sees no problem with using the nation’s largest abortion provider as Arkansas’ navigators and does not understand why  conservatives are upset.  Bradford explained to David Ramsey of the Arkansas Times…

The issue is, do they have a population that needs to be served?  In my viewpoint they do.  We need to have a clearer definition so we don’t have any trouble from conservatives that they think it has anything whatsoever in any way to do with the abortion issue.

We’re going to be sure it’s going to be explained and anybody is going to agree and know that this is a process to help people get on the Internet and get on the federal exchange. It doesn’t have anything to do with anything else and I’m going to make it very clear. I would think the legislature will approve it.

[Planned Parenthood] has a population, a lot of young people that are going to need to understand how to get this coverage. I didn’t want to get bogged down on a political, emotional issue when it does not apply to that.  It’s too important.  We need to reach that population, it’s too important a process.

It is important to note here that Bradford’s is not an unbiased opinion.  He is a long time supporter of Planned Parenthood.

In 2011, they awarded him their annual Brownie Ledbetter Legacy Award “for his guidance in legislative matters,” according to an article from In Arkansas.  You can see him pictured here at a Planned Parenthood fundraiser last year.

Is it really a surprise that he does not understand why conservatives would object to directing taxpayer funds to a business that performs abortions?

We can certainly differ on our views on abortion, but it seems most everyone can understand why we would not want tax dollars going to an abortion provider.  I understand the navigators are not preforming abortions.  That seems obvious.  But the fact is they work for the same business and the taxpayer funds will assist the business and therefore help them provide abortions.

“Abortion advocates like to argue this money won’t actually pay for any abortions, but every dollar groups like Planned Parenthood get from the state just makes it that much easier for them to continue doing abortions,” commented Jerry Cox of Family Council. “It’s one less dollar they have to come up with some other way, and that helps them stay in business. Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion provider, and Arkansans have said time and time again they do not want their tax dollars supporting abortion.”

Of course, apologists for Planned Parenthood try to downplay their focus on abortion often saying it is only 3% of the services they provide.  This misleading statistic is based on the total number of people they assist with any service even as minor as handing them an educational leaflet.

However, the amount of revenue they receive by performing abortions is a sizable chunk of their business estimated at around $165 million in 2009 by providing around 40% of the abortions preformed in the United States.

If Bradford can’t find anyone other than the nation’s largest abortion mill to educate Arkansans about Obamacare, than we have serious problems.