ICYMI: Pappas Introduces Bicameral Bill to Repeal Provisions Defunding Planned Parenthood
Legislation would permanently repeal unconstitutional provisions in the Republican reconciliation law that defund Planned Parenthood. These provisions are currently blocked by a preliminary injunction.
Yesterday Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01), alongside U.S. Representatives Laura Friedman (CA-30) and Nikema Williams (GA-05) in the House and U.S. Senators Tina Smith (MN) and Patty Murray (WA) in the Senate, introduced the Restoring Essential Healthcare Act, a bicameral bill that repeals the newly enacted federal ban on Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood. This week a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction blocking this provision from going into effect. Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (NH-02) is a cosponsor of this legislation.
The Restoring Essential Healthcare Act would permanently strike Section 71113 of Republicans’ “One, Big, Beautiful Bill,” which bans federal Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood clinics that offer reproductive health care alongside other health care. This ban endangers access to health care for more than two million patients across the country, including 20 percent of the nearly 10,000 patients who received care at PPNNE’s four health centers in New Hampshire. PPNNE’s health centers in New Hampshire provided care for these patients at more than 2,800 visits.
“Extreme politicians in New Hampshire and Washington have repeatedly sought to block women’s access to health care and defund family planning, and President Trump’s health care cuts take this dangerous agenda to the next level,” said Congressman Chris Pappas. “We cannot let this stand. That’s why I’m behind this legislation to ensure Granite Staters can continue to access birth control, cancer screenings, preventative care, and other essential services through the health provider of their choice.”
"At Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, the health and well-being of our patients is our top priority. While we remain committed to providing care to anyone who comes to us, the daily uncertainty and chaos from the Republican budget bill harms our most vulnerable Granite Staters. These politically motivated attacks on our health care must stop. We're grateful to leaders like Rep. Pappas for their continued commitment to protecting and expanding essential health care," said Nicole Clegg, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England.
The Congressional Budget Office’s assessment estimates defunding Planned Parenthood will cost taxpayers $52 million over the next ten years, and a recent study by the Guttmacher Institute revealed that no other provider can step in to fill the gap for patients who will lose care if Planned Parenthood health centers are forced to close. The report states that federally qualified health centers and other publicly supported clinics in Vermont and New Hampshire would have to increase their caseloads by 100% to provide care to the patients currently served by Planned Parenthood.
The Restoring Essential Healthcare Act has been endorsed by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Center for Reproductive Rights, Reproductive Freedom Caucus, Guttmacher Institute, National Abortion Federation, National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, National Partnership for Women & Families, National Women's Law Center Action Fund, Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL), Physicians for Reproductive Health, and more.
Background:
Pappas helped introduce the Expanding Access to Family Planning Act earlier this year, legislation that would safeguard and increase funding for Title X—the nation’s only federal program dedicated to providing comprehensive family planning and preventive health services. He has continually advocated for resources to support New Hampshire family planning services and health providers in the face of both state and federal efforts to cut or freeze Title X funding and defund these providers.
Pappas also helped reintroduce three pieces of legislation vital to protecting access to reproductive care this year: the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would enshrine into law vital protections previously guaranteed by Roe v. Wade and secure the right to reproductive care for everyone across America, the Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act, which would reaffirm the right to travel for abortion care including traveling across state lines, and the EACH Act, which would guarantee women access to abortion coverage regardless of how they get their health insurance. He has helped pass these bills through the House in prior Congresses.