Planned Parenthood and two smaller regional abortion providers have resumed billing Medicaid for services other than abortion, following nearly a year of being cut off from federal reimbursements. The defunding, mandated in Donald Trump's major tax and spending legislation in July 2025, has been blamed for the closure of multiple clinics and a reduction in screenings for breast cancer and sexually transmitted infections. The Medicaid billing resumed on Sunday, but the restored funding does not signal an end to the battle over federal abortion policy, and not all services that were cut will return.
Impact of Defunding on Clinics and Services
Many abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood affiliates, have struggled financially since the 2022 US Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, allowing state abortion bans to be enforced. Clinics have closed in states with and without abortion bans and restrictions. Planned Parenthood reports that its affiliates have closed nearly 30 of its roughly 600 clinics over the past year, citing the funding change as a key reason. Over that period, affiliates dispensed about 25% fewer packs of birth control pills and conducted about 20% fewer breast cancer exams compared to the previous year. The organization stated that many patients, especially in areas with limited healthcare access, may have gone without care due to the defunding.
Regional Variations in Provider Experiences
Angela Vasquez-Giroux, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said the cuts also led to limited abortion access in some places. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin halted abortions for about a month, then dropped its status as an “essential community provider” to resume seeking reimbursement. The Arizona affiliate paused many services for Medicaid patients. The defunding provision also affected two other healthcare providers: Maine Family Planning and Health Imperatives in Massachusetts, both non-profit family planning organizations that provided abortion and received over $800,000 yearly in Medicaid reimbursements.
Maine Family Planning
Maine Family Planning closed three primary care clinics that served about 1,000 patients in the largely rural state. Evelyn Kieltyka, a senior vice-president of program services, said on Monday that even with help, former patients had to wait an average of four to six months to establish care with new providers. However, the number of abortions the group provided held steady, as Maine is one of several states where state-funded Medicaid covers abortion.
Health Imperatives in Massachusetts
Patients at Health Imperatives in Massachusetts may not have noticed the change, as no services were dropped. The state government funded Medicaid reimbursements that the federal government stopped, a step that Planned Parenthood says occurred in some form in 14 states. Additionally, the clinic system received a grant from Melinda Gates’s foundation.
Restoration and Uncertain Future
Planned Parenthood’s Arizona affiliate has already announced expanded hours and more telehealth options linked to the ability to bill Medicaid again. Yet some services are unlikely to be restored. Kieltyka said Maine Family Planning is not planning to bring back its primary care practices. “When you close something down and you lose positions,” she said, “it’s very difficult to bring that back and build it back up again.” Michelle Quesada, vice-president of communications, brand and marketing for the Planned Parenthood affiliate in Florida, said a closed clinic in Lakeland is not expected to reopen, partly due to concerns that Congress or the Trump administration could cut Medicaid reimbursements again. “There’s no telling with this uncertainty,” she said. “It’s like a yo-yo effect.”
Political Battle Continues
The political battle is ongoing, with abortion opponents pushing Congress to adopt another defunding policy. “They’ve defunded Big Abortion before,” Kelsey Pritchard, a spokesperson for Susan B Anthony Pro-Life America, said on Monday. “And they should do everything in their power to do it again.” Planned Parenthood contends that most general election voters do not want the organization defunded, while Pritchard said the Republican base does.
