Sen. Mike Foley lost his legislative fight to makes sure that Planned Parenthood gets less state money.

He lost at least in part because some senators were upset that he wasn’t more honest about his reasons for trying to change how state dollars are distributed.

Senators voted to remove the Foley language changing the traditional bid process during second-round debate on the main budget bill (LB1060) on Thursday. Senators also removed the additional $250,000 that would have gone to pay for health care services for low-income women next year.

Instead the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee will study the program that uses about $500,000 in state tax dollars each year to reimburse clinics for treating low-income women, giving pap smears and testing and treating sexually transmitted diseases.

But the Health and Human Services System could change the way the bid process works even before that study.

Three of the seven senators said they switched their votes, at least partly because Foley had misled senators about his real motives. Senators also said they didn’t want to spend more hours debating the issue, a guarantee if the Foley language wasn’t removed.

Sen. Carol Hudkins of Malcolm said she has told Foley that he should have been more forthright. “I was not really happy with the way he did it,” she said.

Sens. Roger Wehrbein of Plattsmouth and Ray Aguilar of Grand Island also said they in part changed their votes because of the disingenuous way Foley initially approached the measure.

Last week senators approved language that would have required the Health and Human Services System to give a preference to local health departments and federally qualified health clinics when giving out the $500,0000, rather than the current preference to health clinics that received federal Title X funding.

Foley originally said his goal was to make sure the money went to more doctors and clinics across the state, so women would have easier access to testing programs.

He insisted this was his goal even after some senators questioned his motives during debate.

However an e-mail written by Foley that became public later in the week indicated his primary motive was to keep state funding from Planned Parenthood, which provides abortions.

The Lincoln senator has since acknowledged his goal was to limit state funding to Planned Parenthood and other federally funded clinics across the state that provide abortion information and referral.

“Planned Parenthood really is different than other clinics” that provide health care to low-income Nebraskans. “They do abortions and they do it in my district. I am offended by that and that offense is compounded by the fact that they receive state funds and federal funds,” he said Thursday. Foley could still achieve his goal. Since there is no language in the current state law or the budget bill giving direction on the bid process, HHSS could change the traditional way the money is distributed.

The agency will be making a decision on the bid process soon, said Kathie Osterman, spokeswoman for HHSS Thursday afternoon.  The new bid process is supposed to take place this spring, to pay for services beginning July 1.

Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or nhicks@journalstar.com.

Votes switched

Seven senators who had voted in favor of Sen. Mike Foley’s proposal to change the bid process for state health care funding switched their votes Thursday. They were Sens. Ray Aguilar of Grand Island, Doug Cunningham of Wausa, Pat Engel of South Sioux City, Carol Hudkins of Malcolm, Mick Mines of Blair, Pam Redfield of Omaha and Roger Wehrbein of Plattsmouth.