Supreme Court strips Medicaid patients’ ability to sue, endangering children and families
NCYL calls on state leaders to stand up for youth, ensure healthcare remains accessible
Medicaid provides critical healthcare services for millions of children and families nationwide. For more than 30 years, when states have failed to provide required Medicaid services, brave individual patients have stepped forward and challenged those denials in court. Today, the Supreme Court took away patients’ rights to legally challenge their state Medicaid program, unfairly denying them access to their healthcare provider of choice, as required by federal law. In this decision, the Supreme Court turned its back on Congressional intent and decades of its own precedent, leaving families in peril.
In Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, the Court held that individuals cannot sue in court to enforce the “freedom of choice” provision — the federal law that allows them to choose their own qualified, Medicaid-enrolled provider for family planning services. This provision allows patients, including young people, to select a provider who understands and meets their individual healthcare needs and with whom they feel safe and comfortable. In Medina, a pregnant patient with diabetes struggled to find a medical provider who treated her with respect and dignity. Eventually she found that care at Planned Parenthood. When South Carolina prohibited Medicaid patients from seeking care at Planned Parenthood, she sued the state to ensure that she could receive healthcare through her chosen provider.
The Supreme Court’s opinion impacts all children, youth and families enrolled in Medicaid.
“This ruling denies access to the courts for children and families who rely on Medicaid,” said Rebecca Gudeman, Managing Director, Health & Wellbeing, at the National Center for Youth Law. “Nearly half of children in America, almost 40 million total, rely on Medicaid and the Court’s decision today deprives them of a critical enforcement tool when state actions arbitrarily limit their access to their chosen healthcare providers as promised by federal law. State leaders must act so that all qualified providers remain accessible to Medicaid enrollees and reject politically-motivated exclusions that endanger children and their families’ health.”
Medicaid serves a crucial role in giving infants a healthy start in life. More than 40% of all U.S. births and half of births in rural areas are covered by Medicaid, with Medicaid offering continuous coverage to these newborn babies during the critical year after birth. Congress designed Medicaid to ensure infants, children and youth can access the healthcare they need to develop, learn and grow in healthy ways. When services are available as designed by federal law, the program has been shown to improve children’s long-term health and education outcomes.
But state Medicaid programs don’t always provide services as required by federal law. With today’s decision, the Supreme Court has closed off the courts to Medicaid enrollees, including children, youth and families, when their state Medicaid program unfairly denies them access to their provider of choice as required by the Medicaid Act.
“It’s all the more important now that Congress hears from Americans and rejects attacks on Medicaid, including in the current federal budget proposal,” Gudeman added. “These cuts will make it nearly impossible for states to meet their obligations under federal law. At NCYL, we encourage all Americans to make their voices heard to defend access to healthcare for all children and youth.”
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The National Center for Youth Law centers youth through research, community collaboration, impact litigation, and policy advocacy that fundamentally transforms our nation's approach to education, health, immigration, foster care, and youth justice. Our vision is a world in which every child thrives and has a full and fair opportunity to achieve the future they envision for themselves.
