A federal judge ruled on Monday that the Planned Parenthood clinics throughout the country must continue to receive Medicaid reimbursements, while the country’s largest abortion service provider fights Donald Trump’s government for their efforts to withdraw financing to the organization in its emblematic fiscal legislation.
The new order replaces a previous edict issued last week by federal judge Indira Talwani, in Boston. Talwani initially granted a precautionary measure that specifically prevented the Government from cutting the medical payments to the members of Planned Parenthood who did not provide abortion services or did not reach a minimum threshold of $ 800,000 for Medicaid reimbursements in a certain year.
“It is likely that patients suffer adverse consequences for their health when care is interrupted or not available,” Talwani wrote this Monday in order. “In particular, restrict the capacity of members to provide medical care services threatens with an increase in unwanted pregnancies and associated complications, due to the reduction of access to effective contraceptives, and an increase in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) not diagnosed and not treated.”
A provision of Trump’s fiscal law ordered the Federal Government to suspend medical payments for abortion service providers that received more than $ 800,000 from Medicaid in 2023, even those as Planned Parenthood that also offer medical services such as contraceptives, pregnancy tests and tests of sexual transformation diseases.
In his demand, Planned Parenthood had argued that they would run the risk of closing almost 200 clinics in 24 states if Medicaid funds were withdrawn. They estimated that this would cause more than one million patients to lose medical care.
“We are demanding the Trump administration for this attack directed against the Health Centers of Planned Parenthood and the patients who depend on them to receive medical care,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and executive director of Planned Parenthood.
“This case tries to ensure that patients who use Medicaid as insurance to obtain contraceptives, cancer detection tests and ITS treatments can continue to do so at their local planned parenthood health center, and we will make it clear in court,” he added.
In the United States there are about 600 Planned Parenthood centers, which is defined as “the main supplier and defender of pagiable and high quality sexual and reproductive medical care”, as well as “the largest provider of sexual education” in the country.
