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Politico
27-06-2025
- Health
- Politico
The politics of Dobbs persists
Greetings from Illinois, where we relish the summer heat. Thanks to Katherine Long and Emma Cordover for letting me jump in to today's Women Rule discussion. You can find me at skapos@ Programming note: This newsletter is on hiatus until July 11 for the federal holiday in the U.S. CHICAGO, Illinois — The political action committee that for decades supported candidates who back abortion rights in Illinois — making the state a haven for reproductive choice — is taking its political playbook to red states, including Indiana and Arkansas, which virtually ban the procedure. 'Since Roe fell, there are many PACs bubbling up in different states. I've been talking to new organizations, sharing our playbook, our questionnaires and ideas about where to start,' Personal PAC CEO Sarah Garza Resnick tells Women Rule. It's been three years since the Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, giving states more authority to restrict abortion. The decision has emboldened states that are working to ban abortions, and it's also transformed blue states like Illinois, which are seeing abortions rise as more patients are crossing their borders seeking reproductive health care. Data from the Illinois Department of Public Health shows there were 11,307 out-of-state abortions in Illinois in 2021, the year before Dobbs. In 2022, there were 16,849 abortions for people from out of state, and 2023 saw 26,168 out-of-state abortions. The Dobbs ruling created a ripple effect that's going to further divide states and create islands of reproductive care across the country, Garza Resnick says. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Along with seeing more patients, how else are blue states feeling the impact of Dobbs three years later? It's affecting the medical profession. There are places where doctors can't practice. They're gagged from talking to clients about abortions, which are a medical necessity. There are gynecologists leaving some states, so people with dire health care decisions won't have access to gynecological care, including abortion. It impacts everyone. There won't be enough doctors in years to come to get normal pap smears or mammograms and all the other things we need. Georgia is seeing doctors leaving the state, and in Missouri, gynecological residency programs are being affected. In Illinois in 2024, we saw 35,000 people become medical refugees and were forced to flee the states where they live with their families to come here to get abortion care. Illinois saw the largest amount of out-of-state patients, the next state is North Carolina, with almost 17,000 out-of-state patients traveling there for care. Why is Illinois seeing an influx over New York or California? It can be hard to travel to California or New York. It's more expensive. People go to places where they can drive. Has the Dobbs decision emboldened members of Congress? Federal Medicaid doesn't cover abortion care. But from city halls to Congress, anti-abortion politicians have been throwing every type of abortion restriction at the wall to see what sticks. Policies that we once considered 'extreme' are making their way through legislatures across the country. How has Dobbs shifted the political landscape? Unfortunately, abortion has always been a political issue because politicians think that they know what is best for women and our bodies and want to control us. Fortunately, abortion has always been popular. I think more campaigns need to stop siloing abortion off as a separate issue. For example, abortion is an economic issue because having a kid when you're not ready can upend your job, education and ability to make ends meet. What are you advising other states trying to mirror what your PAC is doing? We are working with advocates in other states to replicate Personal PAC's winning model of sending candidate questionnaires and educating people running for office. We are 100 percent pro-reproductive freedom, with no exceptions. Is there room for the candidate who opposes abortion rights personally but supports a woman's right to get one? You don't know what you're going to do until you're in that circumstance. Myself, as somebody who's had an abortion, I didn't anticipate an unplanned pregnancy. I would never judge somebody whatsoever about making the other choice. So yeah, I do think that somebody can say, 'I personally wouldn't have an abortion, but I don't think that the government should be involved in someone's pregnancy decisions.' I would stand behind that person. The Supreme Court just upheld Tennessee's ban on gender affirming care for transgender minors. Is that a residual effect of Dobbs? The idea that the government can tell me and my child and their doctor what is best for them is exactly what the anti-choice movement has done to women and our health care. All of these cases are linked. What links access to birth control for married people and the ability for women to decide what to do with their bodies and gay marriage is case law that had been decided over the course of many decades by the U.S. Supreme Court. It's all an issue of control. Have you seen an increase in aggression against abortion clinics or against candidates? We've definitely seen an escalation: bomb threats, arsons, blockades, stalking of clinics and staff have all increased sharply. And, of course, the tragic murders [in] Minnesota. Recently, abortion and IVF clinics have been hit by car‑bombings, firebombs, suspicious packages and surveillance that often crosses the line into doxxing and intimidation. We can't become numb to this political violence. It can never be seen as normal. How do you see abortion rights playing in the 2026 midterms? There are ballot measures related to it in Missouri and Nevada. Unfortunately, ballot measures are not a quick fix. You can see this playing out in states like Ohio, where the majority of Ohioans came out to enshrine the right to abortion in their state constitution, and yet there's still limited access to abortion there. Now, the legislature is trying to undo the will of the voters by introducing an abortion ban bill. It's deeply frustrating. What we've advised in Indiana and other states trying to do this work is that at a very local grassroots level, this takes time. We need patience. The anti-choice movement has been incredibly deliberate for decades in controlling the messaging about how we think about our own bodies.' POLITICO Special Report Planned Parenthood Turns to States for a Lifeline by Rachel Bluth, Katelyn Cordero and Ben Jacobs for POLITICO: 'Planned Parenthood is pushing governors and legislators in California, New York and other blue states to cobble together emergency funding that will allow them to keep the lights on should the spigot of federal money run dry. The Republican budget proposal moving through Congress would in one fell swoop prohibit most abortion providers from getting any federal funding, including Medicaid dollars.' Rep. LaMonica McIver Pleads Not Guilty as Watchdog Group Files Complaint Against Alina Habba by Ry Rivard for POLITICO: 'Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) appeared in court Wednesday morning in front U.S. District Court Judge Jamel Semper on a trio of charges following a May scuffle outside a federal immigration facility. 'Your honor, I plead not guilty,' she said. … McIver is accused in a three-count indictment of slamming a federal agent with her forearm, 'forcibly' grabbing him and using her forearms to strike another agent. Allegations of physical violence by a sitting member of Congress are rare, with a handful of incidents including the pre-Civil War caning of a senator by a member of the House.' Meet the Face of France's Pro-Palestinian Camp by Victor Goury-Laffont for POLITICO Europe: 'PARIS — Rima Hassan's journey aboard the Freedom Flotilla didn't end when Israeli forces intercepted it in the Mediterranean. It concluded before a sea of Palestinian flags being waved by cheering supporters back in Paris. Hassan, a 33-year-old Franco-Palestinian MEP, had just returned to the French capital on June 12 after spending a week on the open water, followed by three days in Israeli custody after attempting to bring aid into the blockaded Gaza Strip. The boat was not nearly big enough to carry sufficient aid to stave off the looming humanitarian catastrophe in the besieged coastal enclave. Speaking to the crowd alongside fiery hard-left French presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Hassan admitted it was 'mostly symbolic.'' Number of the Week Read more here. MUST READS Mamdani's Wife, Absent for Much of Campaign, Is Thrust into Spotlight by Taylor Robinson for The New York Times: 'Zohran Mamdani stood before a cheering crowd late Tuesday night at a Long Island City bar, his victory in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City all but guaranteed. His wife, Rama Duwaji, stood at his side, smiling, as he concluded his speech. Many already knew Ms. Duwaji, 27, from the wedding photos that Mr. Mamdani posted to Instagram last month, showing the couple holding hands on the subway and in the streets of downtown Manhattan. Ms. Duwaji is an animator and illustrator whose designs have appeared in The New Yorker, the BBC and The Washington Post, according to her portfolio website. She is ethnically Syrian and was born in Texas, a campaign spokeswoman said, and she holds a master's degree in illustration from the School of Visual Arts in New York.' Malala Turns Her Fight for Equality to Women in Sports by George Ramsay, Amanda Davies and Aleks Klosok for CNN: 'Malala Yousafzai is known by millions around the world as an activist and human rights campaigner, a voice of power and inspiration who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban at age 15. Perhaps less well known is her life as a sports fanatic. But take any major women's sports event from the past few years and you can bet on Yousafzai being in the stands, whether that's cricket, soccer, basketball, netball or the Olympic and Commonwealth Games. She even chose to spend a freezing Valentine's Day evening with her husband, Asser Malik, watching American rugby star Ilona Maher turn out for English club side Bristol Bears.' Supreme Court Allows States to Cut Off Medicaid Funding for Planned Parenthood by Ann E. Marimow for the Washington Post: 'A divided Supreme Court on Thursday ruled against Planned Parenthood, saying Medicaid patients do not have a right to sue to obtain non-abortion health care from the organization's medical providers. The decision allows South Carolina to cut off Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood. It also has implications for patients in other states at a time when Republicans in Congress and the Trump administration are separately trying to defund even non-abortion health care offered by the nation's largest abortion provider.' QUOTE OF THE WEEK Watch the interview here. on the move Rachel Thomas is now senior director of corporate communications at Flagship Pioneering. She most recently was director of strategic communications for implementation in the Biden White House. (h/t POLITICO Playbook) Kate Kamber Brennan is joining Rational 360 as SVP of digital. She previously led stakeholder targeting programs for Edelman's global business marketing team. (h/t POLITICO Playbook) Na'ilah Amaru is now senior director of mobilization and engagement at the League of Women Voters. She was previously pursuing a Ph.D. in political science at the CUNY Graduate Center. (h/t POLITICO Influence)
American Press
24-06-2025
- Business
- American Press
PAR talks pharmacy bill, possible Medicaid cuts
(Special to the American Press) Prescription costs and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) were a target at the tail end of the 2025 legislative session that ended earlier this month. In the aftermath, three lawmakers joined the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana on a webinar last week to discuss the regular session: Senate President Cameron Henry, House Criminal Justice Vice Chair Vanessa LaFleur and House Appropriations Chairman Jack McFarland. Several bills were discussed, including House Bills 264 and 358. These bills focus on PBMs, the middlemen between drug manufacturers and health insurance providers. HB 264, which was passed by the state senate, places new restrictions on PBMs to ensure transparent practices and increase pharmaceutical savings for customers. The legislation requires PBMs to pass rebates and discounts onto customers and prohibits PBMs from sending customers to their pharmacies. The bill, HB 358, was halted in the state senate in the last hours of the regular legislative session after the state senate opted to not introduce the legislation. HB 358 would have prohibited the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy from renewing or granting permits for pharmacies owned or operated by PBMs, ultimately banning PBMs from owning retail pharmacies in Louisiana. HB 358's provisions would not have taken effect until Jan. 1, 2027. Henry said the long implementation period gave some lawmakers pause, stating the bill died at the state senate primarily because the bill 'didn't go through the normal legislative process.' 'There wasn't committee hearings on the senate side of the house side, no public testimony, the most basic things you need to do when you're doing something of this magnitude that's going to affect literally everyone across the state,' he explained. 'At the end, that late day, being that late in the sessions, having an implementation date that long out, members really feeling uncomfortable … let's study the effect of this.' Proponents of the bill believe the move will lead to lower pharmaceutical drug costs. But those opposed said the closure of pharmacies in Louisiana would disrupt healthcare, worsen health outcomes and increase drug costs for patients, according to a Pharmaceutical Care Management Association release. Gov. Jeff Landry took to social media the day after the legislative session ended to declare his plans for a special session to 'lower your drug prices.' Henry said a special session to address HB 358 is unlikely. The state senate did pass a resolution requiring the Louisiana Department of Health to study the potential impacts of HB 358, which must be completed before the 2026 regular legislative session in March. Federal Medicaid Changes However, Henry said to expect a special session if the over $90 billion cuts to Medicaid included in the 'Big Beautiful Bill' is passed with no implementation period. Nationally, there are particular concerns about the $400 billion cut to provider taxes that fund Medicaid for 49 states. For Louisiana, the loss could total $4 billion, which would have 'devastating' effects on rural hospitals and medical providers, he said. 'We can't handle a huge drop immediately. What we'd do there would not be pleasant, but we have to do it.' House Criminal Justice Vice Chair Vanessa LaFleur echoed Henry, stating that budget cuts would have to be made in special session if the Medicaid funding is immediately pulled. 'As much as I don't like the idea, if it happens the way we anticipate, we'll be back in special, we'll be making cuts because we have to. It's just the unknown.' Henry has been in touch with U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, and U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise to warn them of the potential negative impact of Medicaid cuts on the state. 'They're aware of it, but they're also aware that the rest of the country wants changes,' he said. 'The idea of waste, fraud and abuse sounds good, but it all depends on how you define it.' A two-to-three-year implementation period with the opportunity for amendment is 'the most realistic thing we can ask our delegation.'
