Abbott Requests Federal Medicaid Exemption For Texas Healthy Women Program

The waiver Abbott is requesting would allow the state to distribute Medicaid funds to organizations that do not provide abortion.

By Ryan PoppeJanuary 25, 2018 9:30 am, , , ,

From Texas Public Radio:

Gov. Greg Abbott appealed to the Trump administration Tuesday for federal money to help fund the state’s Healthy Texas Women program. The Obama administration in 2013 withheld the money when the state blocked abortion facilities like Planned Parenthood from those funds.

Abbott’s office submitted what’s known as a federal 1115 waiver, which, if approved, would allow the state — through a 90-10 matching grant — to receive and re-distribute federal Medicaid dollars to facilities that do not provide abortion services.

The Healthy Texas Women program was created in 2013 as a way for the governor’s office to fund obstetric and gynecological clinics that did not provide abortion care, like the Institute for Women’s Health in San Antonio, which provide OB-GYN exams and screenings.

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