Lawmakers in Raleigh are moving forward with a bill that would remove Planned Parenthood as a qualified provider for Medicaid beneficiaries. If passed by both the House and the Senate, 3 million North Carolinians would lose access to sexual and reproductive health care.
H.B. 192, which passed the NC Senate on Sept. 22, 28-20, instructs the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) to disenroll Planned Parenthood as a Medicaid provider and discontinue any Medicaid contracts with Planned Parenthood.
Medicaid, which is jointly funded by states and the federal government, offers low-income health insurance to 80 million Americans and pays for 42% of all births in the United States. However, because states administer the program, they have significant say over how their programs function, causing notable variations and disparities across the country.
Under the Medicaid statute, beneficiaries can visit any “qualified” provider in the state — but states also retain the authority to set the “reasonable standards relating to the qualifications of providers.” As a result, many Republican-led legislatures across the country have moved in recent years to remove Planned Parenthood as a provider.
North Carolina’s push comes on the heels of the US Supreme Court’s decision in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. In July, the 6-3 conservative majority effectively strengthened states’ discretion to disqualify the nation’s largest single provider of reproductive health services from their Medicaid schemes. Now, the Tar Heel state is following the lead.
Conservative groups quickly embraced the bill.
“NC Family applauds the North Carolina Senate for taking action on this incredibly important measure,” NC Family Policy Council President John L. Rustin said. “As the bill states, ‘North Carolinians have made it clear that they do not want their tax dollars subsidizing abortions,’ and this bill will help to ensure that does not happen in North Carolina.”
Jillian Riley, director of public affairs at Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, pushed back on the legislature’s move, stressing the utility of their services in the state.
“Instead of providing well-deserved raises to North Carolina teachers and state employees, the leaders of this General Assembly are bowing down to the extreme agenda of the Trump Administration,” Riley said. “Thousands of North Carolinians rely on both the Medicaid program and Planned Parenthood to get affordable preventive health care, including birth control and cancer screenings.”
Earlier in September, a federal appeals judge temporarily enjoined Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, which covers NC, from providing services to Medicaid beneficiaries due to an ongoing lawsuit between Planned Parenthood and the Trump administration. The NC bill would make the suspension of services permanent.
Imminent Medicaid cuts
North Carolina is also bracing for cuts to Medicaid to come into effect on Oct. 1, 2025.
In August, the NCDHHS announced that due to state-wide budget shortfalls, the state would have to make $319 million in cuts; they reduced how much the state pays all providers by 3%, imposed rate reductions of 8% or 10% for select providers and eliminated certain services altogether.
“Underfunding NC Medicaid now, after years of building a nationally recognized program that delivers real outcomes for the people we serve, is a serious setback,” NCDHHS Secretary Dev Sangvai said. “The forced cuts from the budget shortfall threaten care for those who need it most and include some of North Carolina’s most vulnerable populations.”
Republicans dominate both chambers of the North Carolina General Assembly, but so far have been unable to agree on a state budget that would fund Medicaid in the state and prevent cuts.
“The General Assembly’s failure to fully fund the Medicaid program has forced the state to make cuts to this vital program,” Governor Josh Stein said in a press release. “I call on the General Assembly to put our people’s health over their political disputes and send me a clean bill that keeps Medicaid running and ensures North Carolinians receive the critical care they need.”
The state is expected to face further Medicaid cuts as a result of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” As many as 195,000 North Carolinians could lose coverage over the coming years.
