Oregon AG Urges Supreme Court To Affirm Citizen’s Freedom To Choose Medical Providers, Including Planned Parenthood

Following a lower court’s decision recognizing Medicaid recipients’ right to receive care from the qualified providers of their choice, a coalition of 12 attorneys general, including Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, filed an amicus brief yesterday. The coalition urged the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm the lower court’s decision.

Oregon Asserts People’s Right To Choose Medical Providers

Attorney General Rayfield, with the attorneys general from California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Hawai’i, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington, filed the brief as a friend of the court, asserting citizen’s freedom to choose a medical provider, including providers of Planned Parenthood services.

Rayfield said, “Everyone deserves access to the healthcare they need, including the freedom to choose their providers.”

The filing arose in 2018 when the South Carolina governor issued an order removing any organization that provides abortion services- including Planned Parenthood, from the state’s Medicaid provider list.

In addition to providing abortion care, Planned Parenthood also provides birth control, screenings for sexually transmitted infections, and educational services.

A federal district court ruled that the state’s exclusion of Planned Parenthood was unlawful after a South Carolina Medicaid recipient challenged the decision challenged the decision.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit agreed in a March 2024 decision confirming that the Medicaid Act allows patients to choose their own qualified healthcare providers, but South Carolina appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The AG confirmed that they are seeking the court to affirm the rights of Medicaid recipients in Oregon to get care from providers they trust, giving them the chance to make the best decisions for their health, including vulnerable citizens.

The Supreme Court case will be heard on Wednesday, April 2.