By David Dawson
INDIANAPOLIS, June 2 (Reuters) - Indiana officials said on Thursday they will defy the federal government for now by following a new state law that cuts funding to Planned Parenthood because it provides abortion services.
A U.S. government official has notified state officials that the law, signed by Republican Governor Mitch Daniels last month, violates rules of Medicaid, the U.S. health plan for the poor.
In a letter to Indiana's Medicaid director, Medicaid Administrator Donald M. Berwick said the plan will improperly keep Medicaid beneficiaries from receiving services.
The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration said the agency is seeking guidance from the state's attorney general on how to proceed.
"For now, our lawyers advise us that we must continue to follow the law the Indiana General Assembly passed," said Marcus J. Barlow, spokesman for the Indiana state agency.
Indiana Attorney General spokesman Bryan Corbin said the office is reviewing the letter to determine options for the state, and will continue to defend the statute.
Planned Parenthood of Indiana says the law could cause 9,300 Medicaid patients to lose their preferred provider to receive other services, such as contraceptives, Pap tests, and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases.
Federal Medicaid funds cannot be spent on abortion except in case of rape or incest. Supporters of the Indiana law say it ensures that abortion providers are not subsidized by tax dollars.
"Every day a woman is left without birth control increases the chance of an unintended pregnancy," said Betty Cockrum, Planned Parenthood of Indiana president and CEO. "That will have two possible effects for the state, an increase in births paid for by Medicaid and/or an increase in abortions." (Writing by Mary Wisniewski; editing by Greg McCune and Mohammad Zargham)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
