A federal appeals court ruled that the Trump administration can continue withholding Medicaid funding from Planned Parenthood and other health centers that provide abortions while a set of lawsuits challenging the cuts moves forward, according to Associated Press reporting.
The court decision on Tuesday was issued amid legal efforts by a coalition of mostly Democratic-led states to overturn the Medicaid funding change. The lawsuits followed legislation signed by President Donald Trump in July that included tax breaks and spending cuts and eliminated Medicaid reimbursement for Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers that received more than $800,000 in 2023.
The Massachusetts litigation included two lawsuits, with 21 states and the District of Columbia joining Planned Parenthood in one set of challenges. A separate third lawsuit was filed in Maine by a network of medical clinics there.
In the Massachusetts cases, a federal judge had issued two separate preliminary injunctions. One was issued in favor of Planned Parenthood in July, and a second sided with the state coalition in early December. The appeals court then overturned the first preliminary injunction on Dec. 12 and placed the second one on hold Tuesday.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said in a statement that it was disappointed by the ruling but would continue its legal and access efforts. “Although we are disappointed in the court’s decision, we remain committed to holding the federal administration accountable and ensuring vulnerable Californians can access the health care they need,” the office said.
The Maine case ended differently. The Associated Press report said the Maine lawsuit was dismissed at the request of the clinics that challenged the Medicaid cuts.
Maine Family Planning, which operates 18 clinics in poor and rural areas of the state, shut down its primary care operations in October due to the loss of funding, the report said. The clinics had appealed after a federal judge ruled against restoring funding in August while the lawsuit proceeded.
Earlier this month, the network notified the court that it was ending the lawsuit, leading to the dismissal, the report said. George Hill, the CEO of Maine Family Planning, said the clinics would continue focusing on patient care despite ending the litigation: “As the Trump administration has dismantled the nation’s health care system, we have remained focused on delivering high quality care to our patients, particularly those across rural Maine,” Hill said in a statement Wednesday. “Though our lawsuit will not continue, we are not wavering in our commitment to our patients and to advocating for the health care system that Mainers need and deserve.”
The report said the Center for Reproductive Rights, which represented Maine Family Planning, added that clinic leaders decided to focus their resources on treating patients. “The Trump administration on the other hand has no regard for patients or how the ‘big beautiful bill’ has made healthcare even harder to access in this country,” the center said in a statement.
Planned Parenthood, which did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday, has previously said that nearly half its patients rely on Medicaid for health care aside from abortions. The Associated Press report added that abortions were already not covered by the federal insurance program serving millions of low-income and disabled Americans.
At least eight states have directed state funds to compensate Planned Parenthood for the lost Medicaid reimbursement, the report said. It cited Connecticut’s announced $8.5 million for Planned Parenthood of Southern New England under Gov. Ned Lamont.
Connecticut Attorney General William Wong said Tuesday’s ruling makes that type of state action even more important, describing the decision as a “disappointing setback” while noting the legal fight still had “a long way to go,” according to his statement Wednesday.
Wong said in that statement that the cuts would defund essential, preventive healthcare, including “cancer screenings, birth control, and testing and treatment of sexually transmitted infections.” “We will keep fighting to protect access to essential healthcare and to keep partisan politics out of doctors’ offices,” he said.
A representative for the federal agency administering Medicaid did not respond to the merits but addressed how it would approach the litigation. Health and Human Services press secretary Emily Hilliard told the Associated Press that the department does not comment on litigation, while adding that “We remain committed to protecting the integrity of Medicaid programs to ensure full compliance with the law.”