{"id":9199,"date":"2026-04-20T08:47:57","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T13:47:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/20\/federal-medicaid-rule-targeting-abortion-providers-set-to-expire\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T08:47:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T13:47:57","slug":"federal-medicaid-rule-targeting-abortion-providers-set-to-expire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/20\/federal-medicaid-rule-targeting-abortion-providers-set-to-expire\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal Medicaid rule targeting abortion providers set to expire"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Kaitlyn
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Kaitlyn Joshua, co-founder of Abortion in America and a resident of Baton Rouge, La., said she feared many patients would go without care after Planned Parenthood closed its only Louisiana health centers in response to a new federal rule included in the broad tax and spending measure President Donald Trump signed last summer (Greg LaRose\/Louisiana Illuminator).<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A controversial rule enacted last year that denies federal Medicaid funding to abortion providers is likely to expire this summer, despite anti-abortion pressure on Republicans to renew it.<\/p>\n

Leaders in Congress in recent days have insisted that a new federal spending bill needs to be as stripped down as possible and focused on funding related to immigration enforcement amid a two-month partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. They also have suggested the rule could still be revisited in future legislation, but likely not before the current budget measure expires on July 4.<\/p>\n

The legislation Congress is considering now \u201chas to be very narrow and tight,\u201d said Republican Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, in a statement shared by a spokesperson. \u201cBut we will be looking for, obviously, opportunities to address not only Planned Parenthood, but some of the other issues that might fit in a reconciliation bill.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana is not considering a renewal of the rule in the House version of the bill either, the Washington Examiner recently reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The broad tax and spending measure<\/a> President Donald Trump signed into law last summer strips federal Medicaid funding<\/a> from organizations that provide abortions and received more than $800,000 in reimbursements in fiscal year 2023. The rule primarily affects Planned Parenthood, as well as independent health care nonprofits such as Health Imperatives in Massachusetts and Maine Family Planning.<\/p>\n

Medicaid, which provides health insurance mostly to people with lower incomes, is funded jointly by the federal government and the states, with the federal government covering roughly two-thirds of the cost.<\/p>\n

The rule included in Trump\u2019s tax and spending law was presented by supporters<\/a> as a ban on funding for abortions, but actually prevented clinics from being reimbursed under federal Medicaid for birth control, infection testing and treatment, and a wide range of other reproductive and primary care services<\/a>. A federal rule already prevents federal funding of abortion except in cases of rape, incest and life endangerment<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Some states already allow state Medicaid to cover abortion services<\/a>. Others, such as South Carolina, have excluded Planned Parenthood from their Medicaid programs. South Carolina\u2019s law was upheld last year by the U.S. Supreme Court<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At the anti-abortion movement\u2019s annual March for Life rally<\/a> in Washington, D.C., in January, Johnson spoke about the Medicaid provision as a major policy victory for Republicans.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe stand here today with one united voice to affirm the federal government should not be subsidizing any industry that profits from the elimination of human life,\u201d Johnson said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The rule has survived multiple legal challenges, and its effects have been felt throughout the country<\/a>. Planned Parenthood says more than 50 health centers across 18 states<\/a> closed last year, 23 due to the Medicaid rule, according to a recent Democratic congressional report<\/a>, and the rest due to the temporary loss of federal grants for family planning and preventive health care and other factors. The organization has also reported that visits for contraception and cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood clinics have dropped by double digits<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo much damage has already been done,\u201d said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, in a written statement. \u201cSince Planned Parenthood was \u2018defunded,\u2019 fewer patients went to Planned Parenthood health centers for breast exams, birth control, and IUDs and other long-acting reversible contraception compared to the same period the year before.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Planned Parenthood says more than 50 health centers across 18 states closed last year, 23 of them because of the Medicaid rule.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

Republican Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, a co-chair of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, called the report a \u201cbiased review.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPlanned Parenthood is probably the world\u2018s largest abortion provider, and abortion is in fact its main book of business,\u201d Harris said. \u201cA majority of Americans believe that taxpayer funding should not be used to pay for abortion. If Planned Parenthood wants to stop doing abortions, and, in fact, go into the business of providing other healthcare, that would be different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some clinics, such as Health Imperatives in Massachusetts, have continued seeing Medicaid patients, in some cases with states\u2019 help<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we are encouraged by news that Congress is unlikely to include an extension of the defunding provision in the upcoming bill, the federal government is continuing its orchestrated assault through other avenues on the rights of the people we serve, particularly women, immigrants, and trans youth,\u201d said Health Imperatives President and CEO Julia Kehoe in a written statement. \u201cOur focus remains on providing the highest quality health care to all, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maine Family Planning had to close three of its primary care clinics<\/a> due to the loss of federal reimbursements. But with its recently passed budget, the state is one of the first to provide a safety net for reproductive health services<\/a>, including $5 million annually to support nonabortion services such as contraceptive care, infertility treatments, cancer screenings, prenatal and obstetric care, and the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections.<\/p>\n

Other states \u2014 including California<\/a>, Colorado, Connecticut<\/a>, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico<\/a>, New York, Oregon<\/a> and Washington<\/a> \u2014 have committed a total of $300 million<\/a> to replace the federal Medicaid money. But that amount won\u2019t completely fill the gap left by the absence of the federal dollars, as Planned Parenthood reports its health centers provided an estimated $700 million<\/a> in care annually to Medicaid patients before the new rule.<\/p>\n

McGill Johnson said more than 150 health centers are at risk of closing, and more than 1.1 million patients could lose access to care.<\/p>\n

Letting the federal Medicaid rule expire would be a blow to the anti-abortion movement, which has pushed to extend the rule to 10 years<\/a> and many of whose policy demands the Trump administration has not fulfilled<\/a>, such as restricting nationwide access to medication abortion.<\/p>\n

Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, one of the most outspoken abortion opponents in the Senate, posted on X<\/a> earlier this month that failing to renew the rule \u201cwould be a massive betrayal. Under no circumstance can Planned Parenthood be allowed to get taxpayer money for their abortions and gender transition insanity. Period.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hawley posted late last week<\/a> that he would offer an amendment to ban federal money for Planned Parenthood.<\/p>\n

John Mize, CEO of the national lobbying group Americans United for Life, wrote in a recent op-ed in the Washington Examiner<\/a> that a yearlong extension of the rule is \u201cthe minimum acceptable outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf reconciliation is not pursued, abortion providers are likely to have federal funds restored until after the 2028 elections, if not another two years,\u201d Mize wrote. \u201cRepublicans cannot take for granted the majority they have now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Planned Parenthood is also not taking the provision\u2019s expected expiration for granted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know it\u2019s a question of when \u2014 not if \u2014 anti-abortion lawmakers will attack Planned Parenthood and their constituents\u2019 access to health care again,\u201d McGill Johnson said in the statement.<\/p>\n

Stateline reporter Sofia Resnick can be reached at sresnick@stateline.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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