— Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin clinics may face closures due to a provision in President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that prohibits the nonprofit from receiving Medicaid reimbursement for its many services.
For decades, the Hyde Amendment has largely barred federal funds from paying for abortion services, but this provision goes further. It bars Medicaid reimbursement for all Planned Parenthood services, including contraception care, STD testing, cancer screenings and more.
The provision implemented a one-year ban on all federal funding to organizations that provide abortion services and receive more than $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements.
As a result, PPWI may not be able to support patients who rely on Medicaid as health insurance. Sydney Anderson, government relations specialist at PPWI, said more than 60% of PPWI’s patients — about 30,000 people — would no longer have access to services. Considering that state and federal funds, including Medicaid, accounts for one third of Planned Parenthood’s revenue, the national nonprofit said it expects 200 clinics to close. A majority of the clinics at risk provide abortion services.
Anderson said that PPWI does not have a set number of clinics expected to close in Wisconsin but said the organization would evaluate at a later time.
Anderson said this provision will limit access to reproductive health care for all people in the state, regardless of their medical coverage.
“We should all understand that all of our health care centers are at risk,” Anderson said.
However, anti-abortion activists — such as Matt Sande, legislative director at Pro-Life Wisconsin — refute the nonprofit’s claim that access to reproductive care will be threatened.
“We have this notion that without Planned Parenthood, women can’t access women’s health care. It’s just untrue. It’s factually incorrect,” Sande said.
See more in the WisPolitics Friday REPORT.
