Posted on 01/06/2012 5:01:12 PM PST by afraidfortherepublic
Twice on Dec. 27, 2011, U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., accused Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker of eliminating a cancer-screening program for low-income women.
"Scott Walker cuts cancer screenings for uninsured women, offers no alternatives," read Moores first statement on Twitter, the online messaging site that has some 200 million account holders.
"Walker kills womens cancer screening program for political gain," her second tweet claimed.
In the messages, Moore cited two website articles about the state Well Woman program. Among other things, it provides tests for cancer for low-income women who dont have insurance that covers such screenings.
The articles refer to Walker canceling a state contract with Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, which provides services related to the cancer screenings in four counties -- Winnebago, Fond du Lac, Outagamie and Sheboygan -- between Milwaukee and Green Bay.
In the vast majority of Wisconsins 72 counties, a county health department serves as the local coordinator for the screenings. But since the program was started in 1995, Planned Parenthood has had what now is a $130,000-per-year state contract to serve as coordinator in the four counties. In that role, Planned Parenthood uses two employees to help women sign up for and receive the cancer screenings. In 2010, 715 women in the four counties were served, according to the state Department of Health Services.
So did Walker kill a cancer-screening program for poor women?
In a word: No.
1.Cancer screenings were never provided by Planned Parenthood -- its contract was for helping women sign up for and get the screenings. The screenings are done by other health care providers.
2.Walkers administration did end Planned Parenthoods contract -- but neither the assistance Planned Parenthood provided, nor the screenings themselves, ever ended. Indeed, the change put the four counties on par with how the program is handled in most of the rest of the state.
When we asked Moore spokeswoman Nicole Williams if she had additional evidence to back Moores charges against Walker, she provided a news release from Planned Parenthood. But that release made clear both the assistance and the screenings would continue.
So lets see how Moore, who counts Planned Parenthood as an ally, got it all wrong.
Walker moves to end contract
Walker and Planned Parenthood are political foes. Planned Parenthoods services -- unrelated to the Well Woman program -- include abortion, which Walker opposes. And two weeks before losing its contract, the organization announced its support of the campaign to recall Walker from office in 2012. Walker earlier in 2011 moved to cut Planned Parenthoods public funding for family planning services.
Controversy over the contract surfaced in December 2011.
Dec. 1, 2011: The state health department, according to Planned Parenthood, notifies Planned Parenthood by phone that its contract would end effective Jan. 1, 2012.
So, its clear the Walker administration abruptly ended the longtime contract -- but that didnt mean an end to the cancer screenings or the assistance that Planned Parenthood was providing in the four counties.
Dec. 23, 2011: The state health department announces that Winnebago County would take over the screening assistance in the four counties and that there would be a transition.(The news release did not mention that the assistance would be transitioned from Planned Parenthood.)
So, the state made it clear the cancer screening-related services would continue. The change to Winnebago County puts the four counties in the same position as nearly all other counties in that a local health department, rather than a private agency such as Planned Parenthood, will serve as the local coordinator.
But again, thats not ending the screenings, which was Moores claim.
Dec. 27, 2011: On the day Moore issued her tweets, Planned Parenthood announces it had agreed to continue providing assistance for the screenings for 60 days past the end of its contract.
So, Planned Parenthood itself made it clear that neither the screenings nor the assistance in getting the screenings would end.
How Moore went wrong
Moore used as her tweets, almost word for word, the headlines from the two website articles she linked to in the tweets. Both articles incorrectly reported that the screenings were being provided by Planned Parenthood and that Walker was ending them.
Moores spokeswoman said Moores tweets were merely relating what the articles said. But neither article was from a straight news source. And Moore is responsible for stating bad information, even if it came from another source. Thats the approach PolitiFact has consistently taken, with Democrats and Republicans alike.
A Dec. 17, 2011, Forbes.com article Moore cited was written by a contributor who took the stance that Walker was playing politics with the contract. And a Dec. 20 article she linked to was written by the left-leaning Huffington Post political website.
As for why Planned Parenthoods contract was canceled, Walker explained his decision, in a news article his spokesman provided to us, by saying:
"There are many clinics that are not as controversial as Planned Parenthood, and our goal was to make sure low-income women had access to those sorts of screenings from other providers around the state that don't carry the controversy you get with Planned Parenthood."
Doug Gieryn, director of the Winnebago County Health Department, told us that local health officials were happy with Planned Parenthoods work and upset that the state ended its contract. But as for Moores claim that Walker eliminated the cancer screenings, Gieryn said: "Thats inaccurate."
And by quite a lot.
Our conclusion
Moore said Walker eliminated "cancer screenings for uninsured women" in four Wisconsin counties and offered "no alternatives." But all Walker eliminated was a contract with Planned Parenthood for assisting women in getting the screenings.
Planned Parenthood never provided the screenings. And the screenings never ended -- nor did the assistance Planned Parenthood provided.
Moores claim was false and ridiculous -- our definition of Pants on Fire.
Wisconsin Democrat Pants on Fire Lie Ping
So in 2010 Planned Parenthood received $182 a head to basically point and say, “get your cancer screening over there”?
I say BS. I don’t know where a poor soul has ever been turned away from care. It just a question of how it’s paid, not if it’s paid.
I posted this on every Lib website I could find. We have to fight back.
Good. I like him even more now. There ain’t no more money for this type of crap. The well has run dry. The cow don’t have no more milk. Its time to cut spending and that’s what he’s doing.
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