John Burris: Planned Parenthood Decision Is The Governor’s Correct Call

Politicians and political parties often accuse their opposition of playing politics. It’s ironic, almost like a football team accusing another football team of playing football. But whenever reasonable policy decisions align with political expediency, the decisions are predictable, no matter the side.

So last Friday, when Governor Asa Hutchinson announced he was canceling the state’s Medicaid provider contract with Planned Parenthood, my only thought was “of course he did.” The so-called non-profit has been exposed as a chief peddler of aborted baby parts. That’s a policy that virtually all Republicans oppose, and it’s certainly good red-state politics.

The Democrats have all but accused the governor of jeopardizing the health of all the women in the state. They say he’s only playing politics. They’re right that he’s playing politics, but wrong to say it’s politics only. His decision is far more defensible than that of Planned Parenthood’s defenders.

The governor’s policy position is essentially this: the state will pay for all the same things for all the same people. However, given recent revelations about one particular group and the way they conduct business, the Department of Human Services (DHS) should remove them from the approved Medicaid provider list. The state routinely excludes providers for a variety of criteria. It’s a common occurrence.

But he eliminated no services for women. He eliminated no coverage for women. He simply decided that the state should not affirmatively recognize and support an entity that he believes conducts business in a way counter to the values of most Arkansans.

He was elected and now gets to make broad statements like that. Democrats will have a chance to prove him wrong in 2018. I doubt they will. Meanwhile, their position seems far more political than that of the governor they criticize.

Their defense of Planned Parenthood seems almost blind to the most recent controversies and the very real ethical and legal issues they raise. Instead, Democrats pretend as if this one group is the only one providing key services like testing and screenings. That’s not the case.

State Rep. David Meeks tweeted out a handy map showing all of the other places women can receive needed services. There are dozens scattered throughout the state. In total, Planned Parenthood provided only around $50,000 worth of services that were reimbursed by Medicaid last year. Compared to a more than $5 billion Medicaid budget, it is an incredibly small provider, perhaps not the key to all of healthcare for women that many Democrats act like they are.

I suspect some feel compelled to defend this specific provider partially because of the politics of those who are doing the attacking. In Arkansas, Senator Jason Rapert, Rep. David Meeks, and Rep. Nate Bell have been most vocal in their opposition. That’s a trio liberals love to hate.

But in fairness, most liberals have also long-supported Planned Parenthood for the services it provides. Conservatives have long opposed it for a number of reasons, including their non-profit status (a far too abused privilege for many companies), the political nature with which they are perceived to operate, and most importantly because of their offering of abortion services.

So here we are now, with new angles and battlefronts in this long-standing fight. The governor of Arkansas has spoken. A woman on private insurance or self-paying can still seek services at one of two Planned Parenthood facilities in the state, or anywhere else. If a Medicaid enrollee finds herself at a Planned Parenthood, the undoubtedly helpful staff can refer her to another approved provider in the area. Since their only offices are in Little Rock or Fayetteville, there should be another provider close.

Meanwhile, the federal government has said states like Arkansas, as a result of this action, could be stripped of all Medicaid funds. That’s because they say the governor had no legal cause to arbitrarily cancel this specific provider contract. That seems a bit reactionary to protect one politically friendly but now toxic provider.

Regardless, we have a governor with the politics, the policy, and the power on his side, but Democrats who oppose him and an Obama-led federal government fighting for an ideological legacy on this and other fronts.

None of it will actually affect the health of any woman in Arkansas. The governor, though, can now claim a small moral victory on an issue that matters to those who elected him.

The other team is mad, but real football starts soon. That should help.