Overview
- Section 71113 of the One Big Beautiful Bill would halt Medicaid reimbursements to providers receiving over $800,000 annually if they also provide abortions, with the scope for affiliates in dispute.
- A Massachusetts judge blocked the provision in July for unconstitutional targeting, but the First Circuit lifted that injunction in September and heard arguments this week.
- DOJ attorney Eric McArthur told the court the law does not single out Planned Parenthood, described it as a temporary measure expiring next July 4, and said any remedy lies with Congress.
- Planned Parenthood’s lawyer Alan Schoenfeld argued the measure functions as a bill of attainder, burdens associational rights, and would reduce access to non-abortion care relied on by Medicaid patients.
- Judges pressed both sides on who is covered, with HHS still drafting guidance, and the case could draw further Supreme Court intervention given recent stays of First Circuit rulings in related disputes.