Kaitlyn Joshua, co-founder of Abortion in America and a resident of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said she feared many patients would be left without care after Planned Parenthood closed its only health centers in Louisiana in response to modern federal regulations included in the sweeping tax and spending measures signed by President Donald Trump last summer. (Photo: Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator)
A controversial rule passed last year that denies federal Medicaid funding to abortion providers is likely to expire this summer, despite anti-abortion pressure on Republicans to extend it.
In recent days, congressional leaders have urged that the modern federal spending bill be as simplified as possible and focused on funding related to immigration enforcement in the wake of the two-month partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. They also suggested that this principle could still be revisited in future legislation, but probably not before the current budget measure expires on July 4.
The legislation currently being considered by Congress “must be very narrow and rigorous,” Republican Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune of South Dakota said in a statement released through a spokesman. “But of course we will be looking at opportunities to address not only Planned Parenthood but some of the other issues that could fit into a reconciliation bill.”
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana is also not considering renewing this provision in the version of the bill passed by the House of Representatives This was recently reported by the Washington Examiner..
The a broad measure of taxes and spending President Donald Trump signed the bill into law last summer deprives federal Medicaid funds from abortion providers and received reimbursements of more than $800,000 in fiscal year 2023. The rule primarily applies to Planned Parenthood, as well as independent health care nonprofits such as Health Imperatives of Massachusetts and Maine Family Planning.
Medicaid, which provides health insurance primarily to lower-income people, is funded jointly by the federal government and states, with the federal government covering roughly two-thirds of the cost.
The principle in Trump’s tax and spending law was presented by fans as a ban on abortion funding, but in reality it prevented clinics from receiving federal Medicaid reimbursement for birth control, infection testing and treatment, and a wide range of other reproductive and primary care services. Federal laws already prohibit federal funding of abortion except in cases of emergency rape, incest and threat to life.
Some states already allow this state Medicaid to cover abortion services. Others, such as South Carolina, have excluded Planned Parenthood from their Medicaid programs. South Carolina law was this upheld last year by the U.S. Supreme Court.
At the annual anti-abortion movement March for Life in Washington in January, Johnson spoke of the Medicaid program as a major Republican policy victory.
“We stand here today with one united voice to affirm that the federal government should not subsidize any industry that profits from the elimination of human life,” he added. Johnson said.
The rule has survived numerous legal challenges and its fallout were felt throughout the country. Planned Parenthood says more than that 50 health centers in 18 states According to a recent report, 23 closed last year due to Medicaid rules Democratic Congressional Reportand the rest due to the transient loss of federal grants for family planning and preventive health care and other factors. The organization also reported that visits for contraception and cancer screenings were being held at Planned Parenthood clinics dropped by double digits.
“So much damage has already been done,” Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said in a written statement. “Since ‘defunding’ Planned Parenthood, fewer patients have gone to Planned Parenthood health centers for breast exams, contraception, IUDs and other long-acting reversible contraceptives compared to the same period last year.”
Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, called the report a “biased review.”
“Planned Parenthood is probably the largest abortion provider in the world, and abortion is actually its core business,” Harris said. “Most Americans believe that taxpayer funds should not be used to pay for abortions. If Planned Parenthood wanted to stop providing abortions and actually start providing other health care, it would be a different story.”
Some clinics, such as Health Imperatives in Massachusetts, continue to accept Medicaid patients in some cases state aid.
“While we are heartened by the news that Congress will likely not include an extension of the defunding provision in the upcoming bill, the federal government continues its concerted attack through other means on the rights of the people we serve, particularly women, immigrants and transgender youth,” Health Imperatives President and CEO Julia Kehoe said in a written statement. “Our goal remains to provide the highest quality health care to all, regardless of insurance status and ability to pay.”
Family planning in maine had to close three primary care clinics due to loss of federal reimbursements. However, thanks to the recently passed budget, the state is among the first to provide safety net for reproductive health servicesincluding $5 million annually to support non-abortion services such as contraception, infertility treatment, cancer screening, prenatal and maternity care, and the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections.
Other states – incl CaliforniaColorado, ConnecticutHawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New MexicoNew York, Oregon AND Washington — they committed together 300 million dollars to replace federal Medicaid money. But that amount won’t completely fill the gap left by the lack of federal dollars, Planned Parenthood says its health centers have assured estimated at $700 million covered annually for Medicaid patients before the modern rule was implemented.
McGill Johnson said more than 150 health centers were at risk of closing and more than 1.1 million patients could lose access to care.
The expiration of federal Medicaid regulations would be a blow to the anti-abortion movement, which insisted on extending this period to 10 years and many of these policy demands are made by the Trump administration unfulfilledsuch as limiting nationwide access to medical abortion.
Republican U.S. Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, one of the most staunch opponents of abortion in the Senate, published on X earlier this month, not renewing the rule “would be a huge betrayal. Under no circumstances can Planned Parenthood receive taxpayer money for abortions and gender reassignment madness. Period.”
Hawley posted delayed last week that he would propose an amendment to ban federal funds from Planned Parenthood.
John Mize, CEO of the national lobbying group Americans United for Life, wrote recently article in the Washington Examiner that a one-year extension of this rule constitutes a “minimum acceptable result”.
“If reconciliation is not pursued, abortion providers will likely not restore federal funding until after the 2028 election, if not the next two years,” Mize wrote. “Republicans cannot take the majority they currently have for granted.”
Planned Parenthood also doesn’t take for granted the rule’s expected expiration.
“We know it’s a matter of when — not if — anti-abortion lawmakers will again attack Planned Parenthood and their constituents’ access to health care,” McGill Johnson said in a statement.
Stateline reporter Sofia Resnick can be reached at: sresnick@stateline.org.
This story was originally produced by state linewhich is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network that includes the Ohio Capital Journal and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
