The Trump administration's new budget bill includes sweeping changes to Medicaid, which provides health insurance for millions of low-income children and adults.
For women, who comprise the majority of Medicaid recipients, the changes have big implications, including the loss of reproductive care and health insurance coverage.
A provision in the new bill bans Medicaid payments to any large health care nonprofits that offers abortions, which would strip Planned Parenthood of a large source of its funding. The Hyde Amendment already bars federal funds — including Medicaid dollars — from covering abortion, but the budget bill provision goes further by targeting other healthcare services offered by abortion providers.
Earlier this month, the national nonprofit won a temporary injunction after suing the Trump administration over the provision. The injunction is set to expire on Monday, July 21.
Experts say if the provision ends up going into effect, the consequences would be significant.
Nationwide, low-income women rely on Planned Parenthood clinics for much more than abortion services. They're a crucial source of sexual and reproductive healthcare, providing everything from contraception and STI testing, to pap smears and pelvic exams.
At Planned Parenthood's Glenwood Springs health center, about a third of patients use Medicaid for their health insurance, said Adrienne Mansanares, CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains.
Some of the largest cuts to Medicaid in the bill come from changes to the program's work requirements.
To enroll in Medicaid, adults without dependent children or whose kids are 14 and older will now have to prove they're employed, working towards employment or meet the exemptions. Those include providing caregiver services, attending classes, or living with a disability.
In Colorado, more than 90% of Medicaid beneficiaries fall into these categories, said Dustin Moyer, CEO of Mountain Family Health Centers, which serves 20,000 patients in Pitkin, Eagle, and Garfield Counties. Nearly half of those patients are uninsured.
Moyer called the new provision "a solution in search of a problem." He worries the new law will put health care coverage further out of reach for a community that's already underinsured.
Republicans, including Jeff Hurd, who represents Colorado's 3rd Congressional District, applauded the new work requirements, saying they ensure enrollees are truly "those who need the help and support that Medicaid provides" while encouraging beneficiaries "to lift themselves out of poverty."
The majority of Medicaid recipients are women, many of whom work in low-paid jobs where inconsistent schedules could prevent them from getting the required number of hours each month.
Alina Salganicoff, senior vice president of the Women's Health Policy Program at KFF, a health policy organization, said even working women who meet the work requirements could lose coverage due to the added red tape in an already burdensome process.
"So we're going to see increases in the number of uninsured over time as well," she said. "And these are disproportionately low- income uninsured people, many of whom are women."
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Medicaid financed 41% of all births in 2023 and is the largest source of public funding for family planning services. Medicaid also financed 61% of all long-term services and supports, which women are more likely to need as they age.
Salganicoff said the end result is that many low-income women will lose their insurance coverage, leading to less healthcare access — and poorer health outcomes.
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