Planned Parenthood Medicaid ban quietly lapses
A one-year ban that blocked Planned Parenthood from billing Medicaid, part of the 2025 "One Big Beautiful Bill Act", expired on July 4 after Congress left for recess without renewing it, restoring the group's Medicaid funding for non-abortion care.
- The law, signed July 4, 2025, cut off Medicaid reimbursements for one year to abortion providers that had received $800,000 or more in Medicaid in 2023, a threshold aimed at Planned Parenthood.
- Senate rules limited the ban to a single year. It expired July 4, 2026, and Congress did not extend it before its summer recess, despite pressure from anti-abortion groups.
- With the ban gone, Planned Parenthood can again bill Medicaid (worth roughly $800 million) for services like contraception, cancer screenings and STI testing. Federal law still bars Medicaid money for most abortions.
Why it matters: A major restriction on the largest US abortion provider ended not by a vote or a court ruling but by Congress running out the clock, and reversing it would take new legislation.
Public Law 119-21 (One Big Beautiful Bill Act) ↗ · Jul 5, 20267/5/26 · ✓ Checked✓