{"ID":63739,"name":"Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/cases\/2024\/23-1275","view_count":0,"docket_number":"23-1275","additional_docket_numbers":null,"manner_of_jurisdiction":"Writ of \u003Ci\u003Ecertiorari\u003C\/i\u003E","first_party":"Eunice Medina, Interim Director, South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services","second_party":"Planned Parenthood South Atlantic","timeline":[{"event":"Granted","dates":[1734501600],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/55579"},{"event":"Argued","dates":[1743570000],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/55613"},{"event":"Decided","dates":[1750914000],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/55681"}],"lower_court":{"ID":9,"name":"United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/taxonomy\/term\/9"},"facts_of_the_case":"\u003Cp\u003EMedicaid, established in 1965, is a cooperative federal-state program that provides medical assistance to needy individuals. The program offers federal funding to states that agree to comply with certain conditions, including the \u201cfree-choice-of-provider\u201d provision added in 1967, which ensures Medicaid beneficiaries can obtain medical assistance from any qualified provider. States must submit their medical assistance plans to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for approval, and the Secretary can withhold funds if states fail to comply with federal requirements.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn South Carolina, Planned Parenthood South Atlantic operates two health centers providing various medical services, including contraception, cancer screenings, and STI treatment. Julie Edwards, a Medicaid beneficiary, received care at Planned Parenthood and planned to continue her gynecological care there. However, in July 2018, South Carolina\u2019s Governor issued an executive order directing the Department of Health and Human Services to terminate abortion clinics from the Medicaid program. As a result, DHHS informed Planned Parenthood that it was no longer qualified to provide services to Medicaid beneficiaries and terminated its enrollment agreements immediately. Planned Parenthood and Edwards then sued the Director of DHHS in federal court, seeking to block enforcement of the executive order.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe district court initially granted a preliminary injunction blocking South Carolina from terminating Planned Parenthood\u2019s Medicaid enrollment, and after multiple appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and one previous remand from the Supreme Court, the Fourth Circuit again held that Medicaid beneficiaries can sue to enforce their right to choose their provider.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","question":"\u003Cp\u003EDoes the Medicaid Act\u2019s \u201cany qualified provider\u201d provision unambiguously confer a private right upon a Medicaid beneficiary to choose a specific provider?\u003C\/p\u003E\n","conclusion":"\u003Cp\u003ESection 1396a(a)(23)(A) of the Medicaid Act does not clearly and unambiguously confer individual rights enforceable under 42 U.S.C. \u00a7 1983. Justice Neil Gorsuch authored the 6-3 majority opinion of the Court.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFederal statutes create individual rights only in \u201catypical cases,\u201d and 42 U.S.C. \u00a7 1983 provides causes of action for deprivation of \u201crights,\u201d not mere \u201cbenefits\u201d or \u201cinterests.\u201d To prove an enforceable right, plaintiffs must show the statute clearly and unambiguously uses \u201crights-creating terms\u201d with \u201can unmistakable focus\u201d on individuals. This is a \u201cstringent\u201d and \u201cdemanding\u201d test that spending-power statutes are especially unlikely to satisfy because spending-power legislation is \u201cmuch in the nature of a contract\u201d requiring States\u2019 voluntary and knowing consent to private suits.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESection 1396a(a)(23)(A) lacks the required clear rights-creating language. The provision states that Medicaid plans must \u201cprovide that\u2026any individual eligible for medical assistance\u2026may obtain such assistance from any\u2026qualified\u201d provider. This language addresses state duties and may benefit providers and patients, but lacks the clear \u201crights-creating language\u201d found in the Federal Nursing Home Reform Act provisions upheld in Talevski. Congress knows how to create clear rights, as FNHRA shows by giving nursing-home residents \u201cthe right to choose a personal attending physician.\u201d The any-qualified-provider provision contains no such language. The provision\u2019s exceptions confirm this reading\u2014States may exclude providers \u201cconvicted of a felony\u201d and \u201cdetermine\u201d which convictions qualify, which makes sense if the provision addresses state duties to the federal government but creates problems if it confers individual rights.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJustice Clarence Thomas authored a concurring opinion arguing that the Court should reexamine more broadly its \u00a7 1983 jurisprudence, which, he claimed, bears little resemblance to the statute as originally understood.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJustice Ketanji Brown Jackson authored a dissenting opinion, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, arguing that the any-qualified-provider provision readily creates an enforceable right under a faithful application of the Court\u2019s unambiguous-conferral test. She criticized the majority\u2019s requirement that Congress mirror the specific language of the Federal Nursing Home Reform Act rather than apply the established test for whether a statute unambiguously confers rights, and she warned that the decision continues a pattern of weakening Reconstruction-era civil rights protections.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","advocates":[{"advocate":{"ID":29018,"name":"John J. Bursch","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/john_j_bursch","view_count":0,"last_name":"Bursch","roles":null,"thumbnail":null,"length_of_service":0,"identifier":"john_j_bursch"},"advocate_description":"for the Petitioner","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_advocate\/case_advocate\/23729"},{"advocate":{"ID":63066,"name":"Kyle D. Hawkins","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/kyle_d_hawkins","view_count":0,"last_name":"Hawkins","roles":null,"thumbnail":null,"length_of_service":0,"identifier":"kyle_d_hawkins"},"advocate_description":"for the United States, as amicus curiae, supporting the Petitioner","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_advocate\/case_advocate\/23730"},{"advocate":{"ID":37291,"name":"Nicole A. Saharsky","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/nicole_saharsky","view_count":0,"last_name":"Saharsky","roles":null,"thumbnail":null,"length_of_service":0,"identifier":"nicole_saharsky"},"advocate_description":"for the Respondents","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_advocate\/case_advocate\/23731"}],"oral_argument_audio":[{"id":25778,"title":"Oral Argument - April 02, 2025","public_note":null,"unavailable":false,"display_title":null,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_media\/oral_argument_audio\/25778"}],"citation":{"volume":"606","page":null,"year":"2025","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_citation\/case_citation\/28060"},"decisions":null,"first_party_label":"Petitioner","second_party_label":"Respondent","heard_by":[{"ID":63493,"name":"Roberts Court (2022-)","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/courts\/roberts13","view_count":0,"members":[{"ID":15086,"name":"John G. Roberts, Jr.","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/john_g_roberts_jr","view_count":0,"last_name":"Roberts","roles":[{"id":2730,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1127970000,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"George W. Bush","role_title":"Chief Justice of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/2730"}],"thumbnail":{"id":32683,"mime":"image\/png","size":52305,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/people\/john_g_roberts_jr\/john_g_roberts_jr.thumb.png"},"length_of_service":7428,"identifier":"john_g_roberts_jr"},{"ID":15100,"name":"Clarence Thomas","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/clarence_thomas","view_count":0,"last_name":"Thomas","roles":[{"id":2744,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":688194000,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"George H. W. Bush","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/2744"}],"thumbnail":{"id":32680,"mime":"image\/png","size":49064,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/people\/clarence_thomas\/clarence_thomas.thumb.png"},"length_of_service":12518,"identifier":"clarence_thomas"},{"ID":15068,"name":"Samuel A. Alito, Jr.","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/samuel_a_alito_jr","view_count":0,"last_name":"Alito","roles":[{"id":2712,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1138687200,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"George W. Bush","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/2712"}],"thumbnail":{"id":32684,"mime":"image\/png","size":44799,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/people\/samuel_alito_jr\/samuel_alito_jr.thumb.png"},"length_of_service":7304,"identifier":"samuel_a_alito_jr"},{"ID":15131,"name":"Sonia Sotomayor","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/sonia_sotomayor","view_count":0,"last_name":"Sotomayor","roles":[{"id":2776,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1249707600,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"Barack Obama","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/2776"}],"thumbnail":{"id":32685,"mime":"image\/png","size":50379,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/people\/sonia_sotomayor\/sonia_sotomayor.thumb.png"},"length_of_service":6019,"identifier":"sonia_sotomayor"},{"ID":15094,"name":"Elena Kagan","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/elena_kagan","view_count":0,"last_name":"Kagan","roles":[{"id":2738,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1281157200,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"Barack Obama","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/2738"}],"thumbnail":{"id":32690,"mime":"image\/png","size":44456,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/people\/elena_kagan\/elena_kagan.thumb.png"},"length_of_service":5655,"identifier":"elena_kagan"},{"ID":62836,"name":"Neil Gorsuch","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/neil_gorsuch","view_count":0,"last_name":"Gorsuch","roles":[{"id":3506,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1491541200,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"Donald J. Trump","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/3506"}],"thumbnail":{"id":79753,"mime":"image\/png","size":121461,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/filefield_paths\/neil_gorsuch.thumb__0.png"},"length_of_service":3220,"identifier":"neil_gorsuch"},{"ID":17766,"name":"Brett M. Kavanaugh","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/brett_m_kavanaugh","view_count":0,"last_name":"Kavanaugh","roles":[{"id":3507,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1538802000,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"Donald J. Trump","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/3507"}],"thumbnail":{"id":80518,"mime":"image\/png","size":91566,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/filefield_paths\/Kavanaugh-thumb.png"},"length_of_service":2673,"identifier":"brett_m_kavanaugh"},{"ID":63282,"name":"Amy Coney Barrett","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/amy_coney_barrett","view_count":0,"last_name":"Barrett","roles":[{"id":3511,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1603774800,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"Donald J. Trump","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/3511"}],"thumbnail":{"id":81207,"mime":"image\/png","size":47722,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/filefield_paths\/barret-thumb.png"},"length_of_service":1921,"identifier":"amy_coney_barrett"},{"ID":33869,"name":"Ketanji Brown Jackson","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/ketanji_brown_jackson","view_count":0,"last_name":"Jackson","roles":[{"id":3520,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1656565200,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":null,"role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/3520"}],"thumbnail":{"id":82011,"mime":"image\/png","size":58056,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/filefield_paths\/thumbnail_ketanji_brown_jackson.png"},"length_of_service":1310,"identifier":"ketanji_brown_jackson"}],"court_start":1656565200,"images":null,"identifier":"roberts13"}],"decided_by":{"ID":63493,"name":"Roberts Court (2022-)","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/courts\/roberts13","view_count":0,"members":[{"ID":15086,"name":"John G. Roberts, Jr.","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/john_g_roberts_jr","view_count":0,"last_name":"Roberts","roles":[{"id":2730,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1127970000,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"George W. Bush","role_title":"Chief Justice of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/2730"}],"thumbnail":{"id":32683,"mime":"image\/png","size":52305,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/people\/john_g_roberts_jr\/john_g_roberts_jr.thumb.png"},"length_of_service":7428,"identifier":"john_g_roberts_jr"},{"ID":15100,"name":"Clarence Thomas","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/clarence_thomas","view_count":0,"last_name":"Thomas","roles":[{"id":2744,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":688194000,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"George H. W. Bush","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/2744"}],"thumbnail":{"id":32680,"mime":"image\/png","size":49064,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/people\/clarence_thomas\/clarence_thomas.thumb.png"},"length_of_service":12518,"identifier":"clarence_thomas"},{"ID":15068,"name":"Samuel A. Alito, Jr.","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/samuel_a_alito_jr","view_count":0,"last_name":"Alito","roles":[{"id":2712,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1138687200,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"George W. Bush","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/2712"}],"thumbnail":{"id":32684,"mime":"image\/png","size":44799,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/people\/samuel_alito_jr\/samuel_alito_jr.thumb.png"},"length_of_service":7304,"identifier":"samuel_a_alito_jr"},{"ID":15131,"name":"Sonia Sotomayor","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/sonia_sotomayor","view_count":0,"last_name":"Sotomayor","roles":[{"id":2776,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1249707600,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"Barack Obama","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/2776"}],"thumbnail":{"id":32685,"mime":"image\/png","size":50379,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/people\/sonia_sotomayor\/sonia_sotomayor.thumb.png"},"length_of_service":6019,"identifier":"sonia_sotomayor"},{"ID":15094,"name":"Elena Kagan","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/elena_kagan","view_count":0,"last_name":"Kagan","roles":[{"id":2738,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1281157200,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"Barack Obama","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/2738"}],"thumbnail":{"id":32690,"mime":"image\/png","size":44456,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/people\/elena_kagan\/elena_kagan.thumb.png"},"length_of_service":5655,"identifier":"elena_kagan"},{"ID":62836,"name":"Neil Gorsuch","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/neil_gorsuch","view_count":0,"last_name":"Gorsuch","roles":[{"id":3506,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1491541200,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"Donald J. Trump","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/3506"}],"thumbnail":{"id":79753,"mime":"image\/png","size":121461,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/filefield_paths\/neil_gorsuch.thumb__0.png"},"length_of_service":3220,"identifier":"neil_gorsuch"},{"ID":17766,"name":"Brett M. Kavanaugh","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/brett_m_kavanaugh","view_count":0,"last_name":"Kavanaugh","roles":[{"id":3507,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1538802000,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"Donald J. Trump","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/3507"}],"thumbnail":{"id":80518,"mime":"image\/png","size":91566,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/filefield_paths\/Kavanaugh-thumb.png"},"length_of_service":2673,"identifier":"brett_m_kavanaugh"},{"ID":63282,"name":"Amy Coney Barrett","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/amy_coney_barrett","view_count":0,"last_name":"Barrett","roles":[{"id":3511,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1603774800,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":"Donald J. Trump","role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/3511"}],"thumbnail":{"id":81207,"mime":"image\/png","size":47722,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/filefield_paths\/barret-thumb.png"},"length_of_service":1921,"identifier":"amy_coney_barrett"},{"ID":33869,"name":"Ketanji Brown Jackson","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/ketanji_brown_jackson","view_count":0,"last_name":"Jackson","roles":[{"id":3520,"type":"scotus_justice","date_start":1656565200,"date_end":0,"appointing_president":null,"role_title":"Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States","institution_name":"Supreme Court of the United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/preson_role\/scotus_justice\/3520"}],"thumbnail":{"id":82011,"mime":"image\/png","size":58056,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/sites\/default\/files\/filefield_paths\/thumbnail_ketanji_brown_jackson.png"},"length_of_service":1310,"identifier":"ketanji_brown_jackson"}],"court_start":1656565200,"images":null,"identifier":"roberts13"},"term":"2024","location":null,"opinion_announcement":[{"id":25893,"title":"Opinion Announcement - June 26, 2025","unavailable":false,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_media\/opinion_announcement_audio\/25893"}],"description":"A case in which the Court held that the Medicaid Act\u2019s \u201cany qualified provider\u201d provision does not unambiguously confer a private right upon a Medicaid beneficiary to choose a specific provider and therefore cannot be enforced via \u00a7 1983.","written_opinion":[{"id":18031,"title":"Concurring opinion","author":null,"type":{"value":"concurring","label":"Concurring opinion"},"justia_opinion_id":5071316,"justia_opinion_url":"https:\/\/supreme.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/us\/606\/23-1275\/","judge_full_name":"Clarence Thomas","judge_last_name":"Thomas","title_overwrite":null,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_document\/written_opinion\/18031"},{"id":18032,"title":"Dissenting opinion","author":null,"type":{"value":"dissenting","label":"Dissenting opinion"},"justia_opinion_id":5071317,"justia_opinion_url":"https:\/\/supreme.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/us\/606\/23-1275\/","judge_full_name":"Ketanji Brown Jackson","judge_last_name":"Jackson","title_overwrite":null,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_document\/written_opinion\/18032"},{"id":18033,"title":"Opinion of the Court","author":null,"type":{"value":"majority","label":"Opinion of the Court"},"justia_opinion_id":5071318,"justia_opinion_url":"https:\/\/supreme.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/us\/606\/23-1275\/","judge_full_name":"Neil M. Gorsuch","judge_last_name":"Gorsuch","title_overwrite":null,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_document\/written_opinion\/18033"},{"id":18034,"title":"Syllabus","author":null,"type":{"value":"syllabus","label":"Syllabus"},"justia_opinion_id":5071319,"justia_opinion_url":"https:\/\/supreme.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/us\/606\/23-1275\/","judge_full_name":null,"judge_last_name":null,"title_overwrite":null,"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_document\/written_opinion\/18034"}],"related_cases":null,"justia_url":"https:\/\/supreme.justia.com\/cases\/federal\/us\/606\/23-1275\/","argument2_url":null}