WASHINGTON – Thursday, June 26, 2025, marked the day the Supreme Court ruled that “Medicaid patients do not have a right to sue to enforce their right to a qualified health care provider of choice under the Medicaid statute,” according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
A particular medical facility was affected by the decision: Planned Parenthood.
In the decision made under Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, anyone under Medicaid cannot “choose Planned Parenthood as their qualified health care provider,” said SisterSong, the National Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective.
SisterSong’s executive director, Monica Simpson, shared her concerns. “Let’s be clear: the Supreme Court has sided with white supremacist and anti-abortion extremists in an effort to control our bodies,” she said. “This is a horrific attack on our bodily autonomy and yet another example of a select few having the power and refusing to trust us to make decisions about our health and our lives.”
The Supreme Court described Medicaid as a “bargain” for those “whose income and resources are insufficient to meet the costs of necessary medical services.” Federal funds are provided to meet health care costs “in exchange for compliance with congressionally imposed conditions.”
When a state law prohibits using public funds to support abortion, the state may remove that right. In July 2018, South Carolina determined Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, which runs two clinics in the state, “could no longer participate in the State’s Medicaid program” due to the clinics’ performance of abortions.
Like many other health clinics, Planned Parenthood offers a myriad of services, which include, but are not limited to, wellness care, mental health treatment, and prenatal and postpartum services. Abortion is not the sole reason patients are seen at these clinics, but the state took extra steps to “help ensure that other providers would continue offering necessary medical care and family planning services.”
Planned Parenthood and patient Julie Edwards criticized the decision to exclude the facility, arguing that it violated the “any-qualified-provider” provision. Edwards relied on the institution for gynecological care but could no longer freely choose it due to the loss of Medicaid coverage.
She is among many who will be affected by the ruling. As Simpson explained, “This ruling will have the harshest impact on those who already face barriers to reproductive health care services—especially Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, people with disabilities, rural communities, young people, undocumented individuals, and low-income people.”
She added, “Women of color will bear the brunt of this decision, with more than 30 percent of us relying on Medicaid for health coverage nationwide. Restricting our right to choose our provider puts our health and well-being even more at risk.”
Cecillia Wang, national legal director for the ACLU, further warned that the ruling “may have the effect of blocking patients’ access to birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatment for patients in South Carolina, and potentially will permit state officials to override patients’ choice of provider based on political whims.”
While the ruling upholds states’ ability to restrict Medicaid funding for certain providers, advocates argue it undermines reproductive autonomy.
As Simpson stated, “Reproductive justice demands that we have the power to make decisions about our bodies and our futures. Protecting access to safe, equitable health care is essential to realizing that vision. Our leaders must prioritize our health over political interests—our bodies and lives depend on it.”
The long-term effects of this ruling remain to be seen, but its immediate impact will be felt by those who rely on Medicaid for essential care.
