A federal judge on Monday determined that planning parent clinics across the country must continue to reimburse Medicaid funds.
The new order will replace an earlier warrant passed on last week by US District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston. Talwani initially granted a preliminary injunction specifically blocking the government from reducing Medicaid payments to members of planned parents who did not provide abortion care or did not meet the threshold of at least $800,000 in Medicaid rebates in certain years.
“Patients are likely to suffer negative health effects if care is interrupted or unavailable,” Talwani wrote in an order Monday. “In particular, limiting the ability of members to provide health services reduces access to effective contraceptives and increases in undiagnosed, unprocessed STIs, threatening an increase in unintended pregnancy and associated complications.”
The provisions in Trump's tax bill have directed the federal government to terminate one-year Medicaid payments to abortion providers who received more than $800,000 from Medicaid in 2023.
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The planned parent-child relationship was not specifically named in the law that came into effect on July 4, but the organization's leaders say it was intended to affect nearly 600 centres in 48 states. But Maine's major healthcare providers and perhaps others may have been attacked as well.
In an order Monday, Talwani said the court “is not directing the federal government to fund health services that are not eligible for elective abortion or Medicaid compensation, as the federal government does not prohibit abortion regulations.” Instead, Talwani said her decision would stop the federal government from excluding groups like Planned Parenthood from Medicaid reimbursement when it demonstrated a significant success chance of success in legal challenges.
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In its lawsuit, Planned Parenthood alleged that if it was cut off from the Medicaid fund, it risked closing nearly 200 clinics in 24 states. They estimated that this would result in more than one million patients losing their care.
“We are suing the Trump administration for this targeted attack on patients who rely on Plannard Parent-Child Health Center and care,” Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Plannard Parent-Child Affairs, said in a statement Monday. “This case is to use Medicaid as insurance to ensure that birth control, cancer screening, STI testing and treatment can continue to do so at the local Planned Parenthood Health Center. We will make that clear in court.”
The lawsuit was filed earlier this month by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its membership organizations in Massachusetts and Utah against Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of the Department of Health and Human Services.
The Federal Department of Health did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Previously, the department said it strongly opposed the judge's initial order that allowed some planning custody members to receive Medicaid funds.
“The state should not be forced to fund organizations that choose to advocate politically over patient care,” said Andrew Nixon, the department's communications director. In doing so, he said it would “define the flexibility of the nation” and “concerns about accountability.”
Medicaid is a government healthcare program that serves millions of low-income and Americans with disabilities. Almost half of Planned Parenthood patients rely on Medicaid.
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