Judge blocks Trump administration's efforts to defund Planned Parenthood

BOSTON -- A federal judge has fully blocked a provision that would have effectively defunded Planned Parenthood centers throughout the country by barring them from receiving Medicaid reimbursements.

The ruling, handed down by Massachusetts Federal Court Judge Indira Talwani Monday, ruled that Planned Parenthood facilities will have to be reimbursed for Medicaid Funding that it would have lost through the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood President and CEO Chelly Hegan said in a statement Monday the ruling was an important victory for patients on Medicaid to be able to access health care at Planned Parenthood facilities.

"As this case continues, patients across the country can still use Medicaid to get care at their trusted Planned Parenthood provider," Hegan said Monday. "This is a key but temporary victory, and the fight is far from over."

The bill, signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4, includes a provision preventing Planned Parenthood centers that did not provide abortion care, or meet a $800,000 threshold of Medicaid reimbursements in a year, from receiving Medicaid reimbursements for their services. Talwani previously granted a https://www.dailygazette.com/federal-judge-temporarily-blocks-cuts- o-planned-parenthood/article_2673253f-3dc8-4756-9a36-8220ac4ec7bb.h ml temporary restraining order on the provision July 7, with her most recent ruling blocking the provision taking effect completely.

Planned Parenthood is the country's largest provider of abortion, and also provides multiple women's health services including birth control, cancer screenings, and testing for sexually transmitted infections.

Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood, which provides care to 16,000 people annually at its health care centers in Troy, Hudson and Albany, estimated that the organization would fall $1.5 million short in funding through the potential loss of Medicaid reimbursements.

The national Planned Parenthood Federation of America filed a lawsuit against Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, and the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on July 7, stating the potential defunding of the organization through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would be "catastrophic" to its members by preventing it from offering essential health services to patients on Medicaid.

Roughly 45% of the Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood's patients are enrolled in Medicaid, and the organization uses Medicaid, Medicaid Managed Care, private insurance, and reimbursements from the insurance companies, as well as community support through donations, to provide care.

The national Planned Parenthood federation argued in its lawsuit that close to 200 Planned Parenthood centers in 24 states could have closed if the provision would have continued. Most of those closures, up to 90%, would have occurred in states that still provide legal access to abortions.

Hegan said in her statement the health and well-being of Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood's patients continues to be its top priority.

"Every person, no matter where they live, what kind of care they need, or how much money they have, should be able to get high-quality, affordable health care," she said. "Our health centers in Hudson, Albany and Troy remain open -- and we will never stop caring for our patients."

The organization, as well as Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts, the nonprofit organization that represents Planned Parenthoods in New York, are also working with state leadership to determine ways the state can help with offsetting roughly $35 million in federal Medicaid funding it could lose through the provision included in the federal bill, according to a press release from Upper Hudson Planned Parenthood.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.