by Anna Spoerre, Missouri Independent
A bill that would make Planned Parenthood ineligible to receive reimbursements from the state’s Medicaid program passed out of the Missouri Senate early morning April 10 after an 11-hour Democratic filibuster.
The bill now returns to the House, where it can be sent to Republican Gov. Mike Parson to sign into law.
This legislation, originally filed by Republican state Rep. Cody Smith of Carthage, is nearly identical to a bill filed by state Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, a Republican from Arnold, which was blocked by a Democratic filibuster in February.
The legislation would make it financially tenuous, if not impossible, for the state’s Planned Parenthood clinics to continue seeing patients on Medicaid since the clinics would no longer be reimbursed for the cost of seeing these low-income patients.
Coleman, who is running for Secretary of State, said April 9 that she hopes putting her bill into law makes it “abundantly clear to the state of Missouri that people who are engaged in, are associated with, who are providing abortions in the state of Missouri, shall be ineligible to be part of the Medicaid program.”
Missouri was the first state to outlaw abortion in June 2022 after the constitutional right to the procedure was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. From June 2022 through 2023 , there were 52 abortions performed in Missouri under the state’s emergency exemption, according to data from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
None took place at Missouri Planned Parenthood clinics; however, Planned Parenthood clinics in the neighboring states of Kansas and Illinois still provide abortions.
Coleman's Democratic colleagues blocked a vote on the legislation past midnight April 9, arguing that the state’s health care safety net couldn’t reasonably support displaced Medicaid patients.
State Sen. Tracy McCreery, a Democrat from Olivette, called the bill a “bizarre quest to just continue to punish Planned Parenthood.”
“But the reality is it’s not punishing Planned Parenthood,” she said. “This is hurting our very own constituents.”
Missouri’s Medicaid program, called MO HealthNet, serves low-income and disabled citizens, and has long banned funding for abortion, with limited exceptions. Planned Parenthood clinics primarily provide contraceptives, STI testing, cancer screenings and wellness checks.
The bill was ultimately approved along party lines around 12:30 a.m. April 10.
Capacity at safety net clinics
The bills filed this session attempt to cut Planned Parenthood’s funding through state law after Missouri Republicans twice tried to end Medicaid reimbursements through the state budget. Both times, including as recently as February, courts ruled those attempts unconstitutional.
Despite the legal victories, Planned Parenthood affiliates in Missouri last month said they have not received any Medicaid reimbursements since 2022.
Emily Wales, CEO and president of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which oversees clinics in western Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas, said previously that her organization has been privately fundraising to offset the cost of care to continue seeing Missouri Medicaid patients.
Nearly one in five Planned Parenthood patients in Missouri are on Medicaid. Wales said they’re still evaluating their options if the bill becomes law.
