President Donald Trump’s so-called "One Big Beautiful Bill" has a provision that restricts some abortion providers from billing Medicaid. The way the law was written primarily impacts Planned Parenthood clinics.
A lower federal court temporarily blocked the provision. An appeals court last week overturned that decision while the case continues to play out.
Planned Parenthood of Montana CEO Martha Fuller says roughly a third of the nonprofit’s patients are on Medicaid. She says her four clinics offer more than abortion services.
“Those are services ranging from annual exams, birth control visits, STI testing, cancer screenings," she says.
Fuller says Planned Parenthood will be able to offer some Medicaid patients discounted services through grant funding. But that won’t cover everyone. She says some patients will be forced to find new providers, which can be hard in rural areas.
Fuller says it’s too early to know how Montana clinics will be impacted financially. The national Planned Parenthood arm said in a press release the decision puts 200 clinics at risk of closure.
