Federal court blocks Trump administration's attempt to cut Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood

On Monday, June 28, a federal judge in Massachusetts ordered the Trump administration to continue Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood clinics, as the organization challenges efforts to strip its funding through the administration’s tax legislation.

“We strongly disagree with the court’s decision,” a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said in a statement. “States should not be forced to fund organizations that have chosen political advocacy over patient care. This ruling undermines state flexibility and disregards longstanding concerns about accountability.”

Last week, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani blocked the government from cutting off Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood members that didn’t provide abortion care or meet a threshold of at least $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements in a given year. A ruling affecting less than a dozen locations.

“In particular, restricting members’ ability to provide health care services threatens an increase in unintended pregnancies and attendant complications because of reduced access to effective contraceptives and an increase in undiagnosed and untreated STIs,” Talwani wrote in the 58-page order.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its affiliates in Massachusetts and Utah filed the lawsuit in early July against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In the lawsuit, Planned Parenthood argued that it would be at risk of closing nearly 200 clinics in 24 states if it were cut off from Medicaid funds. The health organization estimated this would result in more than one million patients losing access to care.

“We’re suing the Trump administration over this targeted attack on Planned Parenthood health centers and the patients who rely on them for care,” said Planned Parenthood’s president and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson in a statement on Monday. “This case is about making sure that patients who use Medicaid as their insurance to get birth control, cancer screenings and sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing and treatment can continue to do so at their local Planned Parenthood health center, and we will make that clear in court.”

Medicaid, the government health program serving millions of Americans, provides coverage for individuals with physical disabilities, developmental disorders, serious mental illness and other conditions. Nearly 40% of Planned Parenthood’s clients are Black and Brown, according to Nicole Moore, a former employee of Planned Parenthood. Nearly half of the clinic's patients depend on Medicaid for care.