THE ISSUE:
Get by without Planned Parenthood? One Texas effort stumbles
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — In pushing a replacement for the Affordable Care Act that cuts off funds for Planned Parenthood, Republicans are out to reassure women who rely on the major health care organization that other clinics will step up to provide their low-cost breast exams, contraception and cancer screenings.
Texas is already trying to prove it. But one big bet is quietly sputtering, and in danger of teaching the opposite lesson conservatives are after.
Last summer, Texas gave $1.6 million to an anti-abortion organization called the Heidi Group to help strengthen small clinics that specialize in women's health like Planned Parenthood but don't offer abortions. The goal was to help the clinics boost their patient rolls and show there would be no gap in services if the nation's largest abortion provider had to scale back.
The effort offered a model other conservative states could follow if Republicans make their long-sought dream of defunding Planned Parenthood a reality under President Donald Trump. Several states are already moving to curtail the organization's funds.
But eight months later, the Heidi Group has little to show for its work. An Associated Press review found the nonprofit has done little of the outreach it promised, such as helping clinics promote their services on Facebook, or airing public service announcements. It hasn't made good on plans to establish a 1-800 number to help women find providers or ensure that all clinics have updated websites.
Neither the group nor state officials would say how many patients have been served so far by the private clinics.
The Heidi Group is led by Carol Everett, a prominent anti-abortion activist and influential conservative force in the Texas Legislature.
In a brief interview, Everett said some of the community clinics aren't cooperating despite her best efforts to attract more clients.
"We worked on one Facebook site for three months and they didn't want to do it. And we worked on websites and they didn't want to do it," Everett said of the clinics. "We can't force them. We're not forcing them."
Everett said that advertising she planned was stalled by delays in a separate $5.1 million family planning contract.
Everett proposed helping two dozen selected clinics serve 50,000 women overall in a year, more than such small facilities would normally handle. Clinic officials contacted by the AP either did not return phone calls or would not speak on the record.
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which awarded the funding to the Heidi Group, acknowledged the problems. Spokeswoman Carrie Williams said in an email that the agency had to provide "quite a bit" of technical support for the effort and make many site visits. She disputed that the contract funding has been as slow as Everett alleged.
"The bottom line is that we are holding our contractors accountable, and will do everything we can to help them make themselves successful," she said.
In August, the state had lauded Everett's pitch for taxpayer funds as "one of the most robust" received.
Planned Parenthood and its supporters say the failures show the risks of relying on unproven providers to serve low-income women, and that Republicans' assurances about adequate care are only political rhetoric.
"Every time they try to relaunch one of these women's health programs, without some of the most trusted providers in women's health, every single time they come up short," said Sarah Wheat, a Planned Parenthood spokeswoman in Texas. "And they show their lack of understanding and respect for what women need."
Student Reactions:
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Mary Reams, freshman chemistry and pre-physicians assistant major “I think that Planned Parenthood is a quality government system, but also has a lot of private funding. I believe the services they offer are extremely useful.” |
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Lakin Lane, freshman computer science major “A lot of Republicans point out what they don't believe in, such as abortion. People don't see that the Affordable Care Act is doing more than just providing funding for abortion and is responsible for providing healthcare for Americans who couldn't afford it otherwise.” |
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Becky Cooper, junior marketing major “I don't think Republicans can say that other clinics will step up and help, as that is a major assumption. Cutting off the major programs people rely on through the Planned Parenthood and the Affordable Care Act, aside from abortion which is the Republicans main concern, is stupid.” |
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Derek Bayer, senior telecommunication major “I think it is a bad idea to cut funding for Planned Parenthood because that will force clients into relying on other agencies that have had the opportunity to step up and help in the past but have come up short. If other agencies were capable of providing necessary funding for abortion and other health issues they already would have in the past.” |
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