Medicaid Funding Restored to Planned Parenthood Clinics After July 4 Ban Expiration

The provision barring federal Medicaid reimbursements for non-abortion services at Planned Parenthood clinics, inserted into last year’s GOP-led tax and spending bill, expired on July 4. The change allows clinics to again receive Medicaid payments for preventive care, cancer screenings, birth-control services and other treatments. Planned Parenthood estimates it had been covering roughly $45 million in Medicaid-eligible care at no cost during the ban, a practice it described as “deeply unsustainable.”

Bloomberg Government

Republicans added the funding prohibition to the 2023 budget, extending an existing abortion-funding ban to all services at Planned Parenthood. A Senate parliamentarian limited the ban’s duration to one year, prompting an amendment by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) to extend it. The amendment failed 50-48, with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) opposing and two senators not voting. The House Freedom Caucus later urged Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to reinstate the ban, while Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-Minn.) introduced a bill with 60 co-sponsors to block federal funding for a year; the measure has not advanced.

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Nora Walsh-DeVries, vice president of political and legislative affairs for the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said the ban denied thousands of patients access to cancer screenings, birth-control and other testing. She noted that many clinics—nearly 30 closed locations, over 60 % in rural areas—had relied on Medicaid before the prohibition took effect. Walsh-DeVries added that the organization has received supplemental support from Bloomberg Philanthropies.

Bloomberg Government

Anti-abortion groups expressed frustration that the ban was not extended. Kelsey Pritchard, communications director for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, called the restoration of funding “the default expectation” of the movement and argued that maintaining the ban is essential to “energize” the Republican base ahead of the November elections. The National Right to Life Committee’s president, Carol Tobias, said her organization is intensifying grassroots outreach to reinstall the prohibition, citing concerns about electoral impacts if no action is taken.

Bloomberg Government

• “We are grateful for the relief that many of our affiliates will see,” — Nora Walsh-DeVries, Planned Parenthood Action Fund

Bloomberg Government

• “But unfortunately a lot of damage that has been done is irreversible. That’s obviously really, really tough for us to have to swallow.” — Nora Walsh-DeVries

Bloomberg Government

• “Anthony Pro-Life America, said that it was the “default expectation” of the anti-abortion movement to restore the prohibition on federal funding for Planned Parenthood.” — Kelsey Pritchard, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America

Bloomberg Government

• “SBA is doing our part by investing $160 million in 2026 and 2028 for Republican pro-life candidates, now Republicans must do their part in doing everything they can to once again defund Big Abortion,” — Kelsey Pritchard

Bloomberg Government