Planned Parenthood moves to block Medicaid end in Ohio
Two Planned Parenthood affiliates have moved to challenge the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) from banning them from participating in Medicaid.
Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio and the Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio region have requested an administrative hearing to challenge the state agency’s decision to block them from participating in the federal health insurance program.
According to a press release Friday, ODM sent letters to both Planned Parenthood affiliates in late September informing them of their termination. The notice said the change would prevent more than 27,000 people across Ohio “from receiving affordable care.”
“We hope the hearing will make clear that the federal funding ban is purely a political attack on Planned Parenthood and provides no basis for ODM to close Planned Parenthood from the program,” Melissa Cohen, general counsel for both Planned Parenthood affiliates, said in the release.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act — a massive spending and tax bill signed into law by President Trump in July — includes provisions that bar Planned Parenthood and other organizations that offer abortions from receiving Medicaid reimbursements for at least the next year.
Planned Parenthood affiliates have challenged the bill’s provisions in court. A federal judge ruled in their favor and issued a nationwide injunction in July to prevent the Trump administration from cutting Medicaid funding to the agencies.
But a federal appeals court overturned that decision in late September, allowing the Trump administration to move forward with its plan.
ODM’s decision to end Planned Parenthood’s participation in Medicaid will likely last for years and go beyond the scope of changes proposed in the bill.
According to a press release from Ohio Planned Parenthood affiliates, the two organizations have closed health centers in Cleveland, Hamilton and Springfield as a result of federal cuts.
Several Planned Parenthood affiliates across the country have faced closing services or health centers Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin says it will stop abortion services because of Trump’s bill. Several affiliates sent notices to patients in July that Medicaid would no longer be accepted at their locations.
