BLEEDING HEARTLAND: Iowa Republicans couldn’t have been more wrong about defunding Planned Parenthood
Originally published on Oct. 15
When Iowa Republicans gained the trifecta following the 2016 elections, defunding Planned Parenthood was near the top of their agenda. GOP legislators promised a new state-funded family planning program would increase access to reproductive health care and give women more options, especially in rural Iowa.
The latest official data, first reported by the Des Moines Register’s Michaela Ramm, show the program has flopped. In just five years, the number of Iowans receiving services such as contraception, pregnancy tests, Pap smears, and testing or treatment for some sexually transmitted infections dropped by 90 percent compared to the population served during the last year of the previous Medicaid waiver. The number of health care providers involved is down by a staggering 97 percent.
The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services has done almost nothing to promote the program, even as enrollment crashed.
The reality could hardly be more different from the scenario Republicans described in 2017: “connecting folks with their home health care” for essential services by taking Planned Parenthood’s mostly urban clinics out of the equation.
Read more at Bleeding Heartland
Heartland Signal encourages news organizations and content creators to use our content. You're welcome to republish this article for free as long as you follow our republishing guidelines.
Related Articles
Michigan budget moves Rx Kids funding, but $18M remains in play
The Legislature shifted the money out of a dedicated appropriation, but the budget leaves room for competing interpretations.
Pillen memo calling for 5% cut across Nebraska agencies raises questions about governor’s authority
For the University of Nebraska, a 5% cut could subtract $36 million from its newly approved operating budget
PA legislature wrestles with how to handle data center developments
State legislators in Harrisburg have largely resisted any comprehensive regulation, on data centers, instead focusing on piecemeal, largely bipartisan efforts.
