Planned Parenthood can keep billing Medicaid, judge rules in setback for Trump

Washington Post

4 days ago

A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked a provision in President Donald Trump's domestic policy package that cut Medicaid funding to certain abortion providers — a measure that primarily impacted Planned Parenthood.
The provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill barred Medicaid funding for one year for health care providers that perform abortions and receive more than $800,000 in reimbursements annually. Shortly after Trump signed the policy package into law, Planned Parenthood — the nation's largest abortion provider — sued, saying the provision would have 'devastating consequences' for patients seeking basic health care services, including STI treatment and cancer screening.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, nominated by President Barack Obama, temporarily blocked the provision — but only for Planned Parenthood clinics that do not perform abortions or get less than $800,000 in annual reimbursements. Talwani's order Monday indefinitely extended that block to all Planned Parenthood clinics, allowing them to resume billing for Medicaid services while the case plays out.
The ruling is the latest turn in an ongoing clash between Republican lawmakers and Planned Parenthood over what the organization says is a categorical attempt to 'defund' it for offering abortions.
In a statement Monday, Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson said the organization would 'keep fighting this cruel law' so patients could continue getting 'critical health care, no matter their insurance.'
The Department of Health and Human Services rebuked the ruling. A spokesperson for HHS, the umbrella agency overseeing Medicaid, said the order 'undermines state flexibility and disregards long-standing concerns about accountability.'
'States should not be forced to fund organizations that have chosen political advocacy over patient care,' the spokesperson said in a statement.
Medicaid has subsidized health care for low-income patients and families since 1965. Planned Parenthood participates in the program in every state it can, billing for services such as contraception, pregnancy tests and cervical cancer screenings. It is not used for abortions — Congress has prohibited using federal funding for abortion for decades, with limited exceptions for rape, incest and to save the life of the mother.
A handful of states already cut Planned Parenthood's Medicaid funding, including Texas and Louisiana. Last month, the Supreme Court opened the gate for more states to follow suit when it decided that South Carolina could bar the group from receiving any Medicaid funding.
Trump's reconciliation package placed Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide at a crossroads over whether to stop abortions or lose a year's worth of Medicaid funding. That choice, Talwani wrote, 'kneecaps the entire organization.'
In her order Monday, Talwani said she considered 'the disruption in patient care and corresponding adverse health outcomes' in deciding whether to grant the temporary block.
Nearly 200, or about one-third, of Planned Parenthood's clinics would be affected by the Medicaid provision and have to consider reducing hours, terminating staff or closing entirely, the organization said. The Medicaid-funded clinics treat more than 1 million patients who would have to scramble for affordable care elsewhere — most of them in areas that are medically underserved.
The law's text does not explicitly name Planned Parenthood, but the group contended in its lawsuit that it was singled out by the provision. Few other providers have had their funding slashed under the measure. One of them, Maine Family Planning, has also sued the Trump administration.
In its original complaint, Planned Parenthood described the Medicaid provision — which it called the 'Defund Provision' — as 'a naked attempt to leverage the government's spending power to attack and penalize Planned Parenthood and impermissibly single it out for unfavorable treatment.'
'It does so not only because of Planned Parenthood Members' long history of providing legal abortions to patients across the country, but also because of Planned Parenthood's unique role in advocating for policies to protect and expand access to sexual and reproductive health care, including abortion,' the July 7 filing said.
The organization added that 'there is no indication that Members of Congress were even aware that any other entity could qualify under this statute that was clearly designed to target Planned Parenthood alone.'
In her order Monday, Talwani said Planned Parenthood would likely be able to show they were 'the 'easily ascertainable' target of the law' when it passed.
'This is apparent from the statutory text,' Talwani wrote.
She added that there was 'ample evidence' that Congress 'intended to punish Planned Parenthood,' citing previous legislative attempts to curb its funding. As the case goes forth, Planned Parenthood is likely to successfully argue a number of its other claims — including that the provision has 'no legitimate fiscal purpose' and violated the group's equal protection rights, Talwani wrote.