Appeals court allows Trump’s administration to block Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood

BOSTON (AP) — A U.S. appeals court panel on Thursday allowed President Donald Trump’s administration to block Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood while legal challenges continue.

A federal judge in July ruled Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide must continue to be reimbursed for Medicaid funding as the nation’s largest abortion provider fights Trump’s administration over efforts to defund the organization in his signature tax legislation.

Medicaid is a government health care program that serves millions of low-income and disabled Americans. Nearly half of Planned Parenthood’s patients rely on Medicaid.

A provision in Trump’s tax bill instructed the federal government to end Medicaid payments for one year to abortion providers that received more than $800,000 from Medicaid in 2023, even to those like Planned Parenthood that also offer medical services like contraception, pregnancy tests and STD testing.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its member organizations in Massachusetts and Utah filed a lawsuit in July against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“While the Trump administration wants to rip away reproductive freedom, we’re here to say loud and clear: we will not back down,” Dominique Lee, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts said in a statement. “This is not over.”

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services didn’t immediately respond to an online request for comment.

Planned Parenthood said Thursday’s ruling means that more than 1.1 million patients can’t use their Medicaid insurance at its health centers. That also puts as many as 200 of those health centers at risk of closure, Planned Parenthood said in a statement.

Planned Parenthood says it is the nation’s leading provider and advocate of affordable sexual and reproductive health care, as well as the nation’s largest provider of sex education.

Indiana ramifications

Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaiʻi, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky (PPGNHAIK) said that more than 35,000 patients visit Planned Parenthood health centers in Indiana anually. Last year, 15,000 patients in Indiana and Kentucky used Medicaid for their visits.

Planned Parenthood health centers provided a variety of preventive and essential health services that included STI testing and treatments, Pap tests, breast exams, birth control, HPV vaccines and cervical cancer screenings.

PPGNHAIK estimates that Planned Parenthood health centers save Indiana $13 million a year by preventing unplanned pregnancies, catching cancers early, and controlling the spread of STIs.

Planned Parenthood warned that by the court ruling siding with Trump, Indiana health centers are at risk of closure.

Starting in October, patients who previously used Medicaid will need to pay out of pocket at Indiana Planned Parenthood health centers.

“Stripping Planned Parenthood from the country’s Medicaid program puts essential care out of reach for more than a million patients, disproportionately impacting Black communities, Indigenous communities, other people of color, rural communities, and people with low incomes,” said Rebecca Gibron, chief executive officer of PPGNHAIK.

“We are committed to our patients first and foremost,” Gibron said. “We are here to support people who use Medicaid, ensuring they can receive the care they need now, while we pursue every avenue to restore full access. We are in this for the long haul and our doors remain open.”