Overview

• U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani granted a 14-day temporary restraining order on July 7 to halt enforcement of the reconciliation bill’s Medicaid cut against providers that offer abortions.
• The ruling directs the Department of Health and Human Services to continue disbursing Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood and its member affiliates.
• The challenged provision bars Medicaid funding for one year for any health center that both provides abortions and received over $800,000 in federal Medicaid payments, a threshold unique to Planned Parenthood.
• Planned Parenthood warned that the funding ban could force closure of nearly 200 clinics and cut off care for more than one million Medicaid patients, especially in states where abortion remains legal.
• A July 21 hearing will determine whether to extend the injunction as the lawsuit advances on grounds that the provision violates free association and equal protection rights.