Planned Parenthood set to regain federal funding as GOP ban expires

Planned Parenthood will regain access to federal funding on Saturday, one year after Republicans were able to cut its clinics off from Medicaid.

Last year, Republicans were successful in using the party-line One Big Beautiful Bill Act to achieve their long sought-after goal of defunding Planned Parenthood.

But the complicated Senate rules involved in passing the bill meant the ban only lasted one year instead of 10. Come July 4, Medicaid will once again cover non-abortion care at Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide.

Medicaid is prohibited from paying for almost all abortions under the longstanding Hyde Amendment, but conservatives sought to put Planned Parenthood and other clinics that provide abortions out of business by withholding all federal funding from those clinics. They argued women can receive the same non-abortion care elsewhere.

While the ban did not completely devastate the organization’s finances and drive it to financial ruin like many GOP lawmakers had hoped, Planned Parenthood clinics suffered.

“Tens of thousands of patients have been denied access to services like cancer screenings and birth control and STI testing and treatment. These are things that just can’t be undone,” said Nora Walsh-DeVries, vice president of political and legislative affairs at Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

The law forced the closure of 30 clinics, according to a new report from Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

In September 2025 alone, Planned Parenthood provided healthcare services at no cost to 100,000 Medicaid patients, covering an estimated $45 million in health costs.

Keeping that up was “deeply unsustainable” and not something every affiliate could manage, Walsh-DeVries said.

Roughly 11 states used state-only money to keep Planned Parenthood and other affected providers operational for their Medicaid enrollees over the past year. But that also was not something that could be sustained over a prolonged period.

Once the federal ban lifts, those states will be able to receive federal Medicaid matching funds and won’t need to use their general funds to backfill lost federal revenue.

All health center closures were in “contraceptive deserts” — counties where there are too few healthcare providers offering the full range of methods to women eligible for publicly funded birth control.

As a result, there were significant drops in packs of birth control pills being dispensed, as well in the number of women who visited for IUDs and other long-acting contraception.

Two-thirds of health center closures occurred in either rural areas, medically underserved areas, or areas experiencing shortages of primary care professionals.

“I think it’s just really clear that patients have totally borne the cost of this politically motivated attack on care, and unfortunately, that’s happening disproportionately in these rural areas where there isn’t necessarily any alternative,” Walsh-DeVries said.

Before “defunding” took effect, around half of all visits to Planned Parenthood health centers were from patients who relied on Medicaid. Visits from Medicaid patients dropped by 25 percent compared to the same period during the previous year.

Still, the impact was predicted to be worse.

Just after President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law, Planned Parenthood Federation of America president and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson said nearly 200 health centers in 24 states were at risk of closing.

Anti-abortion groups weren’t satisfied with the one-year ban and have been pressuring lawmakers to extend the provision. While it won’t happen before the July 4 deadline, they are pushing GOP leaders to include it in a third reconciliation bill that they want to pass before the end of the year.

Last year, they warned lawmakers against creating a cliff just ahead of the midterms. They now worry that Republicans are squandering their control of government and won’t get another shot to pass conservative priorities if Congress is split after November.

“Defunding Big Abortion is now the default expectation of the pro-life movement. When they return to D.C., Republicans must do all they can through reconciliation to once again block taxpayer dollars from Planned Parenthood and abortion businesses,” Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America president Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a July 1 statement.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) wants to start working on a third reconciliation bill soon, and hard-line conservatives of the House Freedom Caucus are demanding an extension of the Planned Parenthood defunding provision.

But Senate Republicans are cooler to the idea of a third reconciliation bill, and don’t think it’s realistic given the narrow margins Republicans hold and the general reluctance of some lawmakers to start an abortion fight so close to the midterms.

Polling has shown that a majority of voters oppose defunding Planned Parenthood. Last year, the defunding provision faced opposition from vulnerable Republicans in both chambers, even though almost all ultimately voted for it.

Even when the provision expires and Medicaid funding is restored, Walsh-DeVries said there’s no clear framework for how Planned Parenthood affiliates can obtain that money. In addition, she said she expects some states will continue the ban on their own and will cut off Planned Parenthood from Medicaid reimbursements.

The Supreme Court last year said states are allowed to exclude providers from their Medicaid programs, and Medicaid enrollees can’t challenge those exclusions in court.

According to an analysis from Laurie Sobel, an associate director with KFF’s Women’s Health Policy Program, 13 states have either blocked or tried to block Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood.

Other states “may follow suit” once the nationwide Medicaid prohibition expires July 4, Sobel wrote.

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