At least two regional Planned Parenthood affiliates have notices on their websites telling patients that, thanks to a provision in Republicans’ new tax-and-spending bill that “defunds” the reproductive healthcare giant, they can no longer accept Medicaid.
However, this provision – which abortion rights supporters have called a “backdoor abortion ban” – was recently blocked by a court order. Other Planned Parenthood affiliates are continuing to treat patients who use Medicaid to pay for treatment.
Although the Planned Parenthood network is overseen by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, it includes dozens of independent affiliates that directly provide care to patients.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington DC and Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains had notices on their websites alerting patients that they can no longer accept Medicaid, the US government’s insurance program for low-income people.
“With the passage of the reconciliation bill into law on July 4, 2025, Planned Parenthood health centers, including Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, DC (PPMW) centers, can no longer accept Medicaid coverage for care,” reads the statement on Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington DC’s website, which lists a number of ways patients can still find funding for care.
“This ‘defund’ provision is a cruel, harmful, and inhumane law that will strip health care from thousands of people in the DC metropolitan region and millions across the country.”
Neither Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington DC nor Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains immediately responded to a request for comment.
“There are no other providers who can fully meet the needs of millions of patients if the ‘defunding’ of Planned Parenthood is allowed to stand,” Danika Severino Wynn, vice-president of care and access at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement. “Planned Parenthood health centers are committed to doing everything they can to still see patients – and will continue to do so – while complying with all laws amid the chaos, cruelty and confusion intentionally sown by the new law the Trump administration and its backers in Congress passed that seeks to shut down Planned Parenthood and ban abortion nationwide.”
Some of these affiliates’ notices were initially flagged by reporter Susan Rinkunas of Autonomy News, an outlet that covers issues related to bodily autonomy.
On 4 July, Donald Trump signed into law a sprawling tax-and-spending bill that, in addition to directing trillions of dollars towards tax cuts and immigration enforcement, blocks Planned Parenthood affiliates from receiving Medicaid funding for at least one year.
This ban, which fulfills conservatives’ long-running pledge to “defund” Planned Parenthood, would force the organization to close roughly 200 health centers. Blue states, which are home to larger numbers of Medicaid beneficiaries, would likely take a disproportionate hit.
Planned Parenthood sued over the “defunding” provision on Monday, claiming that it violates the US constitution in multiple ways. A judge agreed to freeze the defunding provision for at least two weeks.
A spokesperson for another affiliate, Planned Parenthood of Florida, confirmed that, after the judge’s order, the group was again scheduling patients who rely on Medicaid.
“Over the weekend, we had to cancel appointments for patients that used Medicaid coverage to receive care at our health centers, which was an incredibly painful and stressful process for the patients and the staff,” said Michelle Quesada, vice-president of communications for Planned Parenthood of Florida. “It’s a rapidly changing situation.”
Since it is illegal to use Medicaid to pay for the vast majority of abortions, Planned Parenthood clinics rely on the insurance program to reimburse them for providing services like birth control, STI tests and cancer screenings. About one in 10 female Medicaid beneficiaries between the ages of 15 and 49 go to Planned Parenthood for their family-planning services.
“We’re facing a reality of the impact on shutting down almost half of abortion-providing health centers,” Alexis McGill Johnson, Planned Parenthood Federation of Americas’s CEO, told the Guardian last week.
“It does feel existential. Not just for Planned Parenthood, but for communities that are relying on access to this care.”
