In Madison, Wisconsin, Planned Parenthood has recommenced scheduling abortions after a temporary halt prompted by federal Medicaid funding cuts. These cuts were a consequence of President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill, which came into effect at the start of October.

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin announced that as of noon on Monday, they were able to resume their services. This change occurred because the organization no longer meets the criteria of a “prohibited entity” according to the new federal legislation. This status change allows them to receive Medicaid funds once again.

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The organization made the decision to relinquish its status as an “essential community provider,” a designation under the Affordable Care Act. According to Tanya Atkinson, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, this change will not affect the cost of abortions or other services, nor will it impact the organization’s funding.

Atkinson emphasized, “Based on our extensive research and analysis, we anticipate little to no effect on patient access. Should relinquishing this status impact our financial situation, we will need to evaluate our options moving forward.”

A national fight over abortion funding

Nationwide, funding for abortions, particularly for Planned Parenthood affiliates, has faced significant challenges. The legal landscape surrounding abortion has been in flux following the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing states to impose bans. Currently, abortion is banned at any stage in 12 states, with limited exceptions, while four others enforce bans after approximately six weeks of pregnancy.

Planned Parenthood has warned that about half its clinics that provide abortion could be closed nationwide due to the ban in the new federal law on Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood for services other than abortion.

Wisconsin, where abortion is legal but the Republican-controlled Legislature has passed numerous laws limiting access, was the only state where Planned Parenthood paused all abortions because of the new federal law, Atkinson said.

Because of the complexities and varieties of state abortion laws, Planned Parenthood affiliates are responding to the new federal law in a variety of ways, Atkinson said. In Arizona, for example, Planned Parenthood stopped accepting Medicaid but continued to provide abortions.

Impact on Wisconsin abortion clinics

In Wisconsin, pausing abortions for the past 26 days meant that women who would normally go to clinics in the southeastern corner of the state instead had to look for other options, including traveling to Chicago, which is within a three-hour drive of the Planned Parenthood facilities.

Affiliated Medical Services and Care for All also provide abortions at clinics in Milwaukee.

Atkinson said she did it was “really, really difficult to say” how many women were affected by the pause in services. She did not have numbers on how many women who wanted to have an abortion since the pause went into effect had to seek services elsewhere.

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin serves about 50,000 people, and about 60% of them are covered by Medicaid, the organization said.

Given those numbers, the priority was on finding a way to continue receiving Medicaid funding and dropping the “Essential Community Provider” status provided the gateway, Atkinson said.

Wisconsin is part of a multistate federal lawsuit challenging the provision in the law. A federal appeals court in September said the government could halt the payments while a court challenge to the provision moves ahead.

Ramifications for Medicaid

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin cited a Sept. 29 court filing on behalf of U.S. Health and Human Services that said family planning organizations could continue billing Medicaid if they gave up either their tax-exempt status or the “essential community provider” designation.

By giving up that designation, it no longer fits the definition of “prohibited entity” under the federal law and can continue to receive federal Medicaid funds, the organization said. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin is not giving up its tax exempt status.

The “essential community provider” designation was originally given to organizations to help make it easier for them to be considered in-network for billing with private health insurers, Planned Parenthood said.

Atkinson called it a “nuanced provision” of the law and she does not anticipate that giving it up will affect Planned Parenthood’s ability to continue providing abortions and other services.

Planned Parenthood provides a wide range of services including cancer screenings and sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment. Federal Medicaid money was already not paying for abortion, but affiliates relied on Medicaid to stay afloat. Services other than abortion are expected to expand in light of the new law.

Planned Parenthood performed 3,727 abortions in Wisconsin between Oct. 1, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2024, the group said.

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