Supreme Court Blocks Medicaid Funding for Planned Parenthood
In a major decision made on Thursday, June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that states can bar Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid reimbursements for non-abortion services, such as birth control and cancer screenings, without facing lawsuits from patients.
The case originated in South Carolina, where Governor Henry McMaster removed the organization from the state’s Medicaid provider list, and the Supreme Court’s ruling may now empower other states to follow suit.
Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the conservative majority, emphasized that Medicare’s “choice-of-provider” language doesn’t create enforceable rights for patients to sue. Instead, he said, decisions about funding belong to state legislatures and governors. In dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson warned that the decision could deprive vulnerable individuals of essential healthcare and strip them of meaningful choice.
Planned Parenthood officials say the ruling puts roughly 1 million Medicaid patients’ access at risk, especially for contraception, STI testing and cancer screenings. Despite the cut, clinics in defiant states like South Carolina will continue providing care without billing Medicaid.
The decision also ties into broader federal efforts backed by the Trump administration. President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill”, a sweeping tax-and-spending measure, includes provisions that would further restrict Medicaid funding for facilities offering abortion services, possibly forcing approximately 200 Planned Parenthood clinics to close nationwide.
As more conservative states are expected to enact similar restrictions, the ruling is seen as a pivotal point in the ongoing battle over reproductive healthcare access.
