Planned Parenthood Keystone will stop providing most services to Medicaid recipients due to recent changes in federal law, a move that could affects hundreds of women seeking care.
President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” bans most nonprofit health clinics from accepting Medicaid funds if they provide abortion care. Planned Parenthood Keystone, which operates seven health centers in central and eastern PA and offers cancer screenings, birth control, wellness exams, sexually transmitted disease testing and other services besides abortion, called the bill a targeted ban on Planned Parenthood and its affiliates.
In addition, Pennsylvania law prohibits providers from charging Medicaid patients for out-of-pocket costs. Melissa Reed, Planned Parenthood Keystone’s president and CEO, said this has meant that the organization has been providing care to Medicaid patients for months without receiving any reimbursement.
“This is what defunding looks like. It’s devastating,” Reed said.
Reed said the choice to stop providing most services to Medicaid patients is a pragmatic one, as 51 Planned Parenthood health centers nationwide have closed, most of them in rural and medically underserved areas. The organization needed to make a decision to keep its doors open, she said.
A Planned Parenthood Keystone spokesperson said its Allentown health center saw 775 patients insured through Medicaid in 2024. And within a 15-mile radius around that center, about 32% of the population relies on public insurance. The spokesperson added that thanks to the Allentown center, the ratio of OB-GYNs to women ages 18-34 is roughly 10 times higher in the vicinity than the average across the broader 15-mile region.
The spokesperson said that federal policy changes like those implemented by the Big Beautiful Bill can further strain access in communities that are already facing limited provider availability and limited options to go elsewhere for their care.
Planned Parenthood Southeastern Pennsylvania, which serves Philadelphia, Montgomery, Chester and Delaware counties, continues to treat Medicaid patients and has suffered millions in losses, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. It is seeking a $1 million cash infusion from the city, and leaders in the organization said they will need more from the city to continue operations.
Patients with private insurance, as well as those who are uninsured, will still be able to receive full services at Planned Parenthood Keystone clinics. Patients with Medicaid will still be able to receive abortion services if they meet certain conditions, such as in the case of rape, incest or to save the pregnant person’s life.