
Texas Has Blocked Health Care Access for Medicaid Patients
Political attacks on health care access for Texans with Medicaid now prevent 8,000 Planned Parenthood patients from receiving life-saving care at their trusted provider.
Lisa's Story
This political attack on Texas Medicaid patients has a devastating impact on real people — people like Lisa, a 39-year-old single mother of two and survivor of domestic violence. Listen to Lisa's full story here.
"After leaving an abusive marriage in 2018, I found myself without health insurance, so I applied to Medicaid. Everywhere I turned I faced long waits, and I was always pushed to the back of the line. I needed follow-up care and treatment for my high-risk HPV — one of the two types that lead to the majority of cervical cancer cases — and referrals for therapy and reparative surgery for the rapes I endured in my marriage. I was in pain, and having to wait was excruciating. Only at Planned Parenthood was I finally able to get a same-day, immediate appointment.
My experience at Planned Parenthood was unlike any other health care setting. More than a health center, I found a community. I have a sensitive situation with deeply personal health care needs, and at Planned Parenthood I have always felt safe, welcomed, and understood. Finding a new provider who accepts Medicaid, and one where I feel comfortable, is hard enough at any time, but during a pandemic it feels practically impossible. Now I have yet another thing to worry about, and I don’t know what I’m going to do. The thought of waiting around for something bad to happen terrifies me."
Take Action
Statement from Melaney A. Linton, president & CEO of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast
“This decision is yet another devastating blow in Texas’ long history of preventing people from accessing life-saving and essential health care at Planned Parenthood. Texas politicians have shown time and time again that they value extremist agendas over Texans’ lives and access to quality, affordable health care.
Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast provides birth control, life-saving cancer screenings, HIV testing, and other preventive health care to patients across the greater Houston area through the Medicaid program. Thanks to the state’s anti-abortion agenda, those thousands of Texans’ access to care is now in jeopardy — and during an unprecedented global health crisis, no less.
Now more than ever, we must do everything we can to expand people’s access to essential health care, not restrict it.”
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