BOSTON — A U.S. appeals court panel on Thursday permitted the Trump administration to halt Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood as legal disputes are underway.
In July, a federal judge had ruled that Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide should continue receiving Medicaid reimbursements while contesting the Trump administration’s attempt to cut funding through significant tax legislation.
Medicaid, a government health program, supports millions of low-income and disabled individuals, with nearly half of Planned Parenthood’s clientele relying on it.
Trump’s tax legislation contained a clause directing federal authorities to suspend Medicaid payments for a year to abortion providers earning over $800,000 from Medicaid in 2023. This includes organizations like Planned Parenthood that also provide medical services such as birth control, pregnancy tests, and STD screenings.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America, along with its branches in Massachusetts and Utah, initiated a lawsuit against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in July.
“Despite the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine reproductive rights, we are standing firm in our commitment,” stated Dominique Lee, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts. “The fight 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.
The video in the player above is from an earlier report.
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