Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic

Amicus: Submitted March 12, 2025

On March 12, 2025, Compassion & Choices joined twenty-eight other nonprofit organizations in submitting an amicus brief in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, a U.S. Supreme Court case addressing whether the Medicaid Act’s free-choice-of-provider provision grants beneficiaries a private, enforceable right to select their healthcare provider.

Compassion & Choices signed this brief because we believe individuals should have the freedom to choose their own healthcare providers. When states block Medicaid beneficiaries from accessing certain providers—particularly due to political opposition to the services they offer—patients lose control over their care. Protecting patient-directed care means safeguarding the right to choose providers and make private healthcare decisions without state interference.

On June 26, the United States Supreme Court issued their decision in Medina v. Planned Parenthood of the South Atlantic, ruling that the Medicaid Act’s free-choice-of-provider provision does not grant beneficiaries a private, enforceable right to select their healthcare provider. Compassion & Choices is disappointed in the Supreme Court’s ruling, which could curtail an individual’s ability to access a healthcare provider of their choosing, and which limits the ability of individuals to hold the government accountable for violations of their civil rights.

Compassion & Choices will continue to fight to ensure that individuals are able to access the healthcare they desire and the providers they trust at the end of life, and that their individual civil rights are protected.