The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that states can block Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood, potentially reshaping access to care, especially for low-income patients.
The 6-3 decision came in a case out of South Carolina, where the state excluded Planned Parenthood from its Medicaid program in 2018, citing a state law prohibiting public funds from going to abortion providers. Planned Parenthood and a patient, Julie Edwards, sued, arguing the decision violated federal Medicaid law, which allows patients to receive care from any “qualified” provider.
But the justices said that provision doesn’t give individuals the right to sue under the federal civil rights law known as Section 1983.
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The ruling overturns decisions by lower courts that had sided with Edwards and Planned Parenthood.
While the ruling does not prevent Planned Parenthood from operating in South Carolina, it allows the state to withhold Medicaid reimbursements for non-abortion services such as contraception, cancer screenings and pregnancy tests. Federal law already bars public funding for abortion in most cases, but Medicaid patients often rely on Planned Parenthood for other reproductive care, particularly in underserved areas.
Liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, warning the decision weakens protections for low-income patients and could embolden states to cut off access to providers for ideological reasons.
