Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has spearheaded a coalition of 17 attorneys general in submitting an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court. The brief urges the court to uphold a lower court's decision that supports Medicaid recipients' rights to choose their healthcare providers, including Planned Parenthood.
The case stems from a 2018 executive order by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, which directed the state's Department of Health and Human Services to exclude organizations providing abortion services, such as Planned Parenthood, from its Medicaid provider list. A South Carolina Medicaid recipient contested this exclusion, leading to a federal district court ruling against the state's decision. In March 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld this ruling, affirming that under the Medicaid Act, patients have the right to select their own qualified healthcare providers regardless of state actions. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on April 2.
"Courts have repeatedly ruled that choosing a medical provider should be left up to individual patients, not the government," stated AG Campbell. "I am proud to lead my colleagues in defending patients’ freedom to receive care from the qualified providers of their choice."
Paige Johnson, interim CEO and President of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic commented on the case: "This case is politics at its worst and never should have been taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court." She emphasized that access to trusted healthcare providers should not be limited by income or insurance status.
The coalition's brief highlights how Medicaid ensures access to safe and affordable healthcare for vulnerable populations and stresses that patient choice is crucial for effective program operation. It argues that while states can implement Medicaid programs with discretion, safeguards like free choice of provider provisions are necessary to prevent restrictive state policies.
Attorney General Campbell was joined in filing the brief by attorneys general from California, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawai’i, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Washington.