Left out of the budget: What Gov. McMaster’s Exec. Budget means for Planned Parenthood

(WCIV) — According to Governor Henry McMaster’s Executive Budget, “for the eighth year in a row, the Executive Budget includes a proviso preventing taxpayer dollars from going to abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.”

McMaster claims that taxpayers dollars should not go to organizations that do not represent South Carolinian’s values.

“There are a variety of agencies, clinics, and medical entities in South Carolina that receive taxpayer funding to offer important women’s health and family planning services without performing abortions. South Carolinians’ tax dollars must not be funneled to organizations that do not represent South Carolina’s values or priorities,” the budget states.

Planned Parenthood South Atlantic on the other hand, says the only funding they get from the state is through Medicaid reimbursements.

“So, like any other insurance, if we provide services to you, your insurance then pays for those services up to their allowable amounts. So that is what’s meant by state funding. It’s Medicaid reimbursements and that’s what every other doctor or hospital in the state gets,” explained Vicki Ringer, the Director of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood South Atlantic.”

“Most of the money from Planned Parenthood comes from donors, donations pay for the medical services we provide, and then patients also self-pay” Ringer added.

Ringer says understanding the funding is crucial in this discussion.

“The most important thing is for people to understand is, the money when they talk about taxpayers funding Planned Parenthood, that’s not happening at all,” she said. “What is happening is the Medicaid insurance plan reimburses Planned Parenthood after we have provided medical services to patients. And that includes men, women, teens, the entire gamut of people of patients on Medicaid. It does not cover abortion at Planned Parenthood. Never, has, never will. That’s the Medicaid law.”

Ringer says that an important distinction to make is that while yes, the Executive Budget would affect Planned Parenthood, she emphasized it has the potential to hurt patients more.

“The money is not a large part of our budget at all, we would survive. The problem is all of those Medicaid patients, then have to find another provider. And we have a shortage of Medicaid doctors in this state and even fewer of them who accept new Medicaid patients”, she said.

The organization believes their services are needed in the state especially in light of recent health care statistics.

“We have a shortage of doctors. We have a shortage of OBGYNs and because of the abortion ban, even more OBGYNs are leaving or refusing to come here when they’re recruited,” Ringer said. “We have the highest maternal mortality rate of, we rank seventh among 50 states. All 43 states have better maternal mortality rates than us. We have one of the highest infant mortality rates. Women in South Carolina die earlier than the national average, and earlier than most other states,” Ringer listed.