A leading provider of abortion care is expanding in 黑料吃瓜网, as state lawmakers look to further strengthen reproductive health. Their work comes at a time when 10 states have measures to protect abortion rights on the ballot this November.
Across the nation, 21 states have banned or restricted abortion care since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022 鈥� 黑料吃瓜网 has not. The right to an abortion in 黑料吃瓜网 has been .
But since the repeal of Roe, Planned Parenthood is seeing more people coming to 黑料吃瓜网 from out-of-state for abortion care. The numbers further surged last year, and are holding steady, said Amanda Skinner, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southern New England.
More people in 黑料吃瓜网 are also seeking a variety of care, and Planned Parenthood is expanding to meet the demand, Skinner said.
鈥淲e are providing telemedicine abortion,鈥� Skinner said. 鈥淲e have expanded our gender-affirming care program. We launched providing , which is an over the counter birth control pill.鈥�
But for low-income patients in 黑料吃瓜网 access to abortion care can still be an issue, especially for people marginalized by both income and race.
鈥淓ven here in 黑料吃瓜网, too many people continue to face barriers getting the care they need,鈥� Skinner said. 鈥淎nd so telemedicine is one way to reduce barriers to care.鈥�
A from the nonprofit policy group Guttmacher Institute found roughly two-thirds of people getting abortions in states that reimburse those services 鈥� like 黑料吃瓜网 鈥� use their Medicaid insurance to pay for it.
But Brittni Fredrickson, associate director of Women's Health Policy at , said those reimbursements have been historically low.
鈥淚n 黑料吃瓜网, there's a fee schedule for physicians who are providing surgical services, and the reimbursement for abortion services for those providers is quite low,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut 黑料吃瓜网 does have a separate fee schedule for family planning clinics and abortion providers. Those reimbursement rates are much higher.鈥�
In 黑料吃瓜网, physicians are reimbursed by Medicaid $128 for a first trimester surgical abortion. It's a rate well below the median U.S. average of $334 for that same procedure, according to Fredrickson.
At clinics like Planned Parenthood that specialize in birth control or abortion care, the 黑料吃瓜网 Medicaid reimbursement rate for a first trimester surgical abortion is higher at $541. But Skinner said that rate still only covers about half the cost of care.
Jillian Gilchrest, a state representative from West Hartford and chair of the Human Services Committee, said she wants this to change.
鈥淲e're looking at increasing the Medicaid rate for both family planning services and for abortion care,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hose rates have not been increased since the early 2000s and so that is causing there to be waiting lists for services.鈥�
Gilchrest is working with State Rep. Kai Belton from Middletown on Medicaid reimbursements.
Belton, head of the state鈥檚 Black Maternal and Infant Health Caucus, is also working to expand access to other aspects of reproductive health care 鈥� like doulas.
鈥淚t really falls down to Black and brown individuals not having that access, not having the education,鈥� Belton said. 鈥淚t's important for us as a state to prioritize that and make sure that people have what they need.鈥�
Voters in the , including the swing state of Arizona, will have the option to vote to protect or expand access to abortion care in their states.
