CINCINNATI — Two Planned Parenthood locations in Southwest Ohio shut their doors this month. Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio leaders say the closures come due to a cut in Medicaid funding at the state and federal levels.
On Tuesday, Congressman Greg Landsman and local Planned Parenthood leaders spoke about the effect these closures have on the community. The two clinics were located in Springfield and Hamilton, places where medical professionals say there is already a shortage of providers.
"These areas around Cincinnati and Dayton have already been declared health care areas of need," said Dr. Sharon Liner, the medical director for Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio.
The two locations did not perform abortions; officials said they provided preventive care to patients.
Hear how Congressman Landsman says Medicaid cuts could affect everyone:
Landsman and Planned Parenthood officials said the Medicaid cuts focusing on these clinics were because of politicians' biases against them.
"Public funding in Ohio does not pay for abortion services. In Ohio and nationally, our wellness services are what’s being stripped away," said Nan Whaley, President & CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio. "STI testing, cancer screenings, birth control — all of it reduced because politicians put their ideology before people’s lives."
WCPO 9 spoke with Right to Life Ohio President Mike Gonodakis when the news of the Planned Parenthood closures was announced. He celebrated that news and said there are still many options for those on Medicaid.
"There are still countless places for women to go to get those types of services that you mentioned. Screenings, tests, evaluations, and Hamilton County is a great place for women to receive healthcare at reduced cost or no cost," said Gonodakis.
Whaley says around 40% of their patients at any given facility are on Medicaid. Now they have to refer those patients to different Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), but say the cuts to Medicaid threaten those clinics too.
"We’re referring them, hopefully, to other FQHCs that can provide some of this care. But as the congressman says, we see the squeeze on Medicaid, those FQHSs are pretty nervous too."
Landsman said he believes the Medicaid cuts will soon affect everyone, from rural hospitals shutting down to higher prices.
"You’re going to see it start affecting everybody else because when you pull a trillion plus dollars out of the health care system, everyone feels the pain," said Landsman.
I asked him if there's alternate funding for organizations like Planned Parenthood, and if he’s working toward solutions.
He said there isn’t enough private funding to make up for what these clinics are losing from public funding. But has recently introduced a bill to hopefully help fill the gap.
"We introduced a bill a couple days ago that would repeal the provider tax language in this mega spending bill that would allow states to raise the revenue that they need to cover some of the losses here," said Landsman.
According to a press release from Landsman’s office, before the “Big Beautiful Bill,” federal law allowed states to levy a fee on hospitals of up to 6 percent of patient revenue. Now, the bill lowers that fee to a maximum of 3.5% by 2032.
"As a result, states will struggle to generate the revenue they need to fund their Medicaid programs — forcing them to reduce payments to hospitals, reduce Medicaid coverage, or raise state taxes," read the press release.
We reached out to several local republican lawmakers and pro-life organizations on Tuesday to hear their thoughts on the cuts to Medicaid, but have not received a response.
