Planned Parenthood clinics are once again tapping a major federal funding stream, and some Republicans and anti-abortion activists are blaming Republican Party leaders. As of Sunday, the organization can again bill Medicaid for nonabortion services such as contraception and STI screenings, restoring a revenue source Planned Parenthood says is worth more than $800 million and used by over half its patients. The yearlong cutoff came through President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but Senate rules meant the defunding provision expired, the Hill reports.
Anti-abortion groups now accuse Republican leaders of dropping the ball by not renewing it and are pressing for a fresh attempt in a third party-line reconciliation bill before year's end. Students for Life Action flunked every lawmaker on its "pro-life generation report card," while Live Action's Lila Rose called the lapse a "moral failure" and urged swift action to reinstate the ban. Some GOP House conservatives want Speaker Mike Johnson to move, but some Senate Republicans are wary of another abortion fight ahead of the midterms. Medicaid, under the Hyde Amendment, generally cannot pay for abortions, but opponents have sought to choke off all federal funds from providers.
Planned Parenthood was prepared for the change, and some chapters have let Medicaid patients know they can return, per Politico. In Louisiana, which had lost its last Planned Parenthood centers in the past year, at least one new clinic is scheduled to open. "The impact of this defund did not result in less abortion care. It just resulted in less people being healthy, less people being able to get care and access in a place that they want to get care and access," said Planned Parenthood's Nora Walsh-DeVries.
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