Court of Appeals to Hear Arguments on Law Cutting Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid Reimbursements

A federal appeals court will hear arguments Wednesday on whether a spending bill passed in July that ended Medicaid reimbursements for Planned Parenthood can remain in effect while legal challenges continue.

President Donald Trump’s tax and spending cuts bill targets organizations that provide abortions and receive more than $800,000 a year in Medicaid reimbursements. Planned Parenthood said the law violates the Constitution, while anti-abortion activists praised the legislation.

Read more: Appeals court allows Trump administration to block Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood

The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston ruled that the law could take effect in September while a lower court considers Planned Parenthood’s claims. A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal is scheduled to preside over the hearing on Wednesday.

In a report released before the hearing, Planned Parenthood said the legislation cost $45 million in September alone, with clinics across the country paying for Medicaid patients out of pocket — a rate the organization says is unsustainable.

Nearly half of Planned Parenthood’s patients rely on Medicaid for health care except for abortions, which were not already covered by the federal insurance program that serves millions of low-income and disabled Americans.

Legal battle

Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its member organizations in Massachusetts and Utah, as well as a major medical company in Maine, filed lawsuits against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. in July. A provider in Maine was forced to halt its primary care services while his lawsuit makes its way through the courts.

Meanwhile, seven states — California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and Washington — have directed state funds to make up for lost federal Medicaid reimbursements.

That covered nearly $200 million of the $700 million the organization spends annually on Medicaid patients, according to Planned Parenthood.

In light of the shortage, some clinics will force Medicaid patients to pay out of pocket while others will close entirely, adding to the 20 Planned Parenthood clinics that have closed since July and the 50 total clinics that have closed since the start of Trump’s second term.

See more: Planned Parenthood CEO says blocking Medicaid funding is ‘devastating for patients’

“The outcome is for patients who will be forced to make impossible choices between essential services,” Alexis McGill Johnson, Planned Parenthood’s president and CEO, said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Abortion is at the heart of the debate

Carol Tobias, chair of the National Right to Life Committee, said Trump’s legislation is a step in the right direction. Although federal tax dollars are not used for abortions directly, she said taxpayers contribute to abortion services even if they are morally or religiously opposed because Medicaid reimbursements help the organizations that provide them stay alive.

“Being forced to pay for this is absolutely unacceptable,” Tobias said.

She suggested that Planned Parenthood should stop offering abortions if it wanted to continue providing medical care to vulnerable populations.

The head of Planned Parenthood has doubled the organization’s commitment to providing abortions.

“The government should not play a role in determining any pregnancy outcomes,” Johnson said.

Hit a bunch of services

Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion provider, but abortions accounted for just 4% of all medical services in 2024, according to the organization’s annual report. Sexually transmitted disease tests and contraceptive services account for about 80%. The remaining 15% of services are cancer screenings, primary care services, and behavioral health services.

See more: After Roe fell, anti-abortion activists targeted birth control

Jenna Tosh, CEO of Planned Parenthood of California’s Central Coast, said in an interview that Medicaid cuts threaten abortion and non-abortion medical care equally. Nearly 70% of patients who use Planned Parenthood on California’s Central Coast rely on Medicaid, she said.

“We provide basic health care to many of our patients,” Tosh said. “You’re really starting to pull the string of the entire health care safety net for the most vulnerable people.”