Several Planned Parenthood clinics are already closing after Republicans’ massive tax law immediately cut off Medicaid funds to the organization for one year.

Facilities in at least three states announced closures amid a challenging legislative and legal environment that came to a head after Congress banned organizations from receiving Medicaid dollars for other services if they also provide abortions.

Medicaid is a major source of funding for family planning providers, who often serve low-income populations.

The tax and immigration reconciliation law signed by President Donald Trump on July 4 prevents Planned Parenthood and Maine Family Planning from receiving federal Medicaid funding, though the legislation doesn’t name either organization. The one-year prohibition applies to essential health providers that received at least $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements in 2024.

The two organizations separately filed lawsuits challenging the funding cutoff. So far, court rulings have provided temporary relief to only a few of the 600 clinics affected.

While it’s not unusual for clinics to occasionally close, this latest obstacle calls into question how clinics already operating on thin margins can survive the one-year ban.

Rep. Lateefah Simon, D-Calif., said on the House floor Wednesday that she was 19 years old and was living in public housing in San Francisco when she had her first daughter. She was able to get through college and law school because she had access to care, she said.

“If we want people to be healthy in this country and to participate in their communities and work, we need to open up choices, and we need to provide more opportunities instead of less,” said Simon, whose amendment offered during the reconciliation process to protect Planned Parenthood services was rejected.

The organization’s largest location, named after former Rep. Barbara Lee, opened in Simon’s district this year.

Closing time

In all, Planned Parenthood has said 200 clinics in 24 states are at risk of shuttering. They include two Ohio family planning clinics — which don’t provide abortions — in Springfield and Hamilton that will close Aug. 1.

“It’s going to exacerbate health care deserts and it’s going to increase abortions,” said Nan Whaley, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region. The organization made the decision to close the two clinics so it could protect abortion access at two other clinics in the state.

“We can’t afford to go in the red on something when we have to protect abortion access,” Whaley said, noting the abortion-performing clinics serve people from six states due to abortion bans in surrounding areas, including Indiana.

Between 40 percent and 50 percent of Planned Parenthood’s patients in Springfield and Hamilton use Medicaid, Whaley said.

In 2024, Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region’s six clinics served nearly 16,000 patients, with the most popular services including sexually transmitted infection tests, distribution of birth control medication and pregnancy tests, according to the organization’s annual report.

“Women rely on these clinics for cancer screenings. Because of (Republicans’) horrible bill, women lost their healthcare provider,” Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, said in a statement.

The bill was signed into law only three weeks ago, so the full impact isn’t yet clear. But Planned Parenthood clinics have faced financial challenges for years as they’ve been increasingly exposed to state laws and litigation following the Supreme Court overturning of Roe v. Wade, which for five decades guaranteed a right to an abortion in the U.S.

State legislators have sought to make it more difficult for patients with Medicaid to seek nonabortion care at Planned Parenthood. Texas has banned Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood since 2021. And the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that the organization’s patients don’t have standing to sue South Carolina for excluding the organization from its Medicaid program.

Opponents say funding Planned Parenthood indirectly supports abortion, even in states where it is banned.

While many, but not all, Planned Parenthood clinics provide abortions, federal Medicaid money specifically reimburses clinics for other services like contraception and STI testing. The Hyde amendment, an annual appropriations rider, prevents federal money from covering abortion outside of cases of rape, incest and saving the pregnant individual’s life.

Clinics that see more Medicaid patients will likely face greater financial challenges, said Lauren Kokum, director of affiliate communications at Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

“Medicaid, for many affiliates, is a large portion of their patient base,” and the law is “pushing them to the precipice” with no other revenue to fill the gap, Kokum said.

Clinics in states with higher Medicaid populations are forecasting financial losses and may have to make difficult decisions.

“They can’t absorb the cost of care for an extended period of time and continue to see Medicaid patients and not get reimbursed,” Kokum said.

A clinic in Evansville, Ind., also announced this week it will close, according to Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky. The Evansville clinic, which will close Sept. 8, served 800 patients a year. The clinic did not provide abortions.

Several Planned Parenthood clinics in California are also closing.

Some locations closed before the bill passed, as personnel anticipated that the provision would take effect, Kokum said. They include clinics in Iowa, Alaska, Idaho and Michigan.

In addition to the closures, some clinics have announced other cost-cutting measures. A St. Louis clinic plans to lay off administrative staff.

The effect has been compounded by the Trump administration’s decision to pull another source of funding — Title X family planning grants — from some Planned Parenthood clinics, freezing funding for several affiliates.

“President Trump is currently withholding funding from New Hampshire family planning clinics that serve thousands of Granite Staters,” Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., said at a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing this month. “We’ve heard from clinics in New Hampshire that are now considering plans to close their doors due to President Trump’s actions.”

Next steps

The upheaval has led some Democratic-led states to fill funding gaps with state dollars.

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has said the state will step in to fill Planned Parenthood’s funding gap if a lawsuit does not prevail. Washington clinics receive about $22 million from Medicaid, with half of that previously coming from federal funding.

“We have a very challenging budget in Washington and cannot backfill every cut,” made by the GOP law, he said. “We must step into this temporary gap to ensure women continue to have access to critical health care.”

Massachusetts Gov. Maura T. Healey on Thursday announced $2 million in funds for Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts.

But states are already facing their own funding gaps after the law shifted more costs to states in the food stamps and Medicaid programs.

That largely leaves the battle to be resolved by the courts.

The Center for Reproductive Rights filed suit on July 16 on behalf of Maine Family Planning and its 18 clinics.

The Health and Human Services Department this week filed an appeal after U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued a preliminary injunction blocking the defunding provision for some Planned Parenthood clinics.

“Simply put, Planned Parenthood has no right to taxpayer money, and this Court should not invent such a right. The Court should uphold Congress’s lawful exercise of its authority to decide to whom it will entrust taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars,” Health and Human Services lawyers said in the court filing.

Planned Parenthood has sought further clarity in court, in a suit filed by Planned Parenthood Federation of America and two of its members, Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts and Planned Parenthood Association of Utah.

“The court has not yet ruled on whether it will grant preliminary injunctive relief to other members. We remain hopeful that the court will grant this relief. There will be nothing short of a public health crisis if Planned Parenthood members are allowed to be ‘defunded,’” they said in a joint statement.

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