Missouri Senate passes bill to ‘defund’ area health care provider

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KY3) – Though Planned Parenthood of Great Plains and its sister chapter in the St. Louis region do not provide abortion care, they are poised to lose their eligibility for Medicaid reimbursement under a bill passed by the Missouri Senate early Wednesday morning.

The bill, HB 2634, which already cleared the Missouri House, carves out any “abortion facility,” none of which exist in Missouri, as well as any “affiliate thereof,” from receiving any public funds, including through MoHealthNet.

According to Planned Parenthood of Great Plains, roughly one in five patients in Missouri are on Medicaid, meaning the organization’s survival would be in jeopardy if the House passes the bill and Gov. Mike Parson signs it, both of which are considered very likely.

State Rep. Wendy Hausman, a Republican of St. Peters, is one of the dozens of Republican co-sponsors of the bill and admits it’s a symbolic gesture of rebuke.

“I think it is symbolic,” Hausman said. “I think it says that we, as Republicans, want to protect life and that we consider an infant in the womb actual life.”

The cost of that symbol, though, is the services that Planned Parenthood provides in Missouri, including STI testing, cancer screenings, wellness checks, and other services.

“We are especially under-resourced in rural areas,” said Emily Wales, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Great Plains. “Whether that’s central Missouri, Joplin, Springfield, all of those parts of the state rely on Planned Parenthood as part of their safety net system.”

When asked if the loss of these services in parts of the state concerns her, Hausman said she believes the market will correct the deficit in demand.

“I think there’s other places that you can get services,” Hausman said. “I think that when we look at just one, that kind of monopolizes it. We need other services to count on, not just one company.”

Democrats have stood firm against the legislation, calling it an election-year attention grab with few alternative Republican policy priorities.

“They’ve gotten so far on abortion at this point after the Dobbs decision came down that they don’t know what else to do,” said House Minority Whip Ashley Aune, a Democrat from Kansas City. “They don’t know how to signal to their base that they are super pro-life. So all they can do now is stunts like this.”

The bill must receive final approval from the House before hitting Gov. Mike Parson’s desk. To report a correction or typo, please email digitalnews@ky3.com

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