Planned Parenthood moves to block Medicaid termination in Ohio

Two Planned Parenthood affiliates have moved to challenge the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) from prohibiting their participation in Medicaid.

Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio and Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region 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 Friday press release, the ODM sent letters to both Planned Parenthood affiliates in late September informing them of the termination. The release said the change would prevent more than 27,000 people “from receiving affordable care” across Ohio. 

“We hope the hearing will clarify that the federal funding prohibition is purely a political attack on Planned Parenthood and does not provide any basis for ODM to terminate 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 large spending and tax bill signed into law by President Trump in July — included provisions that prevented Planned Parenthood and other organizations offering abortions from receiving Medicaid reimbursements for at least the next year.

Planned Parenthood affiliates challenged the bill’s provisions in court. A federal judge ruled in their favor and issued a nationwide injunction in July blocking the Trump administration from cutting Medicaid funding to the organizations.

But a federal appeals court overruled this decision in late September, allowing the Trump administration to proceed with its plans. 

The ODM’s decision to terminate Planned Parenthood’s participation in Medicaid would potentially last beyond the year and goes beyond the scope of changes proposed in the bill.

According to the Ohio Planned Parenthood affiliates’ press release, the two organizations closed health centers in Cleveland, Hamilton and Springfield as a result of federal cuts. 

Several Planned Parenthood affiliates around the country have faced cuts in services or health center closures. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin said it would pause abortion services due to Trump’s bill. Multiple affiliates sent notices to patients in July that Medicaid would no longer be accepted at their locations.