Planned Parenthood and two smaller nonprofit healthcare providers have resumed billing Medicaid for services other than abortion after being unable to do so for most of the past year. The change follows a period of financial strain that organizations say contributed to clinic closures and reduced access to preventive healthcare.
The restored Medicaid reimbursements mark a significant policy shift, although providers say some services and facilities will not return. According to the Associated Press, the broader political dispute over federal abortion policy also remains unresolved.
Planned Parenthood and other affected providers said the loss of Medicaid reimbursements had consequences extending beyond abortion services. According to the Associated Press, the funding restriction was mandated through President Donald Trump’s tax and policy legislation in 2025 and remained in effect for most of the following year.
The organization reported that nearly 30 of its approximately 600 clinics closed during that period, while fewer patients received preventive care. Planned Parenthood said affiliates dispensed about 25% fewer packs of birth control pills and performed roughly 20% fewer breast cancer examinations than during the previous year. The organization also said many patients, particularly those living in areas with limited healthcare access, may not have received care because of the funding cutoff.
Providers Report Uneven Recovery as Some Services Remain Unavailable
Although Medicaid billing resumed on Sunday, providers say the return of funding does not automatically restore all healthcare services that were reduced or eliminated.
According to the Associated Press, Planned Parenthood’s Arizona affiliate has already announced expanded operating hours and additional telehealth options following the restoration of Medicaid reimbursements. Earlier during the funding interruption, the affiliate had paused many services for Medicaid patients.
Other organizations say rebuilding lost capacity will be much more difficult. Maine Family Planning closed three primary care clinics serving about 1,000 patients in rural parts of the state. Evelyn Kieltyka, the organization’s senior vice president of program services, said former patients waited an average of four to six months to establish care with new providers, even with assistance.
Kieltyka also said the organization does not intend to reopen its primary care practices. “When you close something down and you lose positions, it’s very difficult to bring that back and build it back up again,” she said.
The experiences of affected providers varied by state. According to the Associated Press, patients served by Health Imperatives in Massachusetts did not lose services because the state replaced the suspended federal Medicaid reimbursements. Planned Parenthood said similar state support occurred in some form across 14 states. The Massachusetts organization also received a grant from the Melinda Gates Foundation.
Political Dispute Continues Despite Restoration of Medicaid Reimbursements
The resumption of Medicaid billing does not end the broader debate over federal funding for abortion providers. Planned Parenthood affiliates have faced financial pressure since the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, which allowed state abortion bans and restrictions to take effect. According to the Associated Press, clinics have closed both in states with abortion bans and in states where abortion remains legal.
Some affiliates also altered their operations during the reimbursement suspension. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin temporarily stopped providing abortions before relinquishing its designation as an essential community provider to resume seeking Medicaid reimbursement. In Florida, Michelle Quesada, vice president of communications, brand and marketing for the state’s Planned Parenthood affiliate, said a clinic in Lakeland is not expected to reopen because of continued uncertainty over future federal funding.
Meanwhile, abortion-rights opponents are urging Congress to adopt another defunding measure. Kelsey Pritchard, a spokesperson for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said lawmakers should pursue another funding restriction. Planned Parenthood, by contrast, maintains that most general election voters oppose defunding the organization, while Pritchard said Republican voters support the policy.
