At the heart of the case is a federal provision that guarantees that people insured by Medicaid can freely choose their own providers as long as they accept the program and are qualified to provide care. The case hinges on a technical argument: South Carolina – …. – says Medicaid beneficiaries have no right to sue if they believe that guarantee has been violated, in part because Congress never intended for beneficiaries to have that right.
…
“Even though the state is trying to claim that it has sole authority to decide who’s a qualified provider, this isn’t really about whether Planned Parenthood is a qualified provider. It’s about a political calculation on abortion,” Huberfeld said. “Really, what’s happening here is states making politically driven decisions about access to medical care.”
Read more at The Guardian