Maine’s reproductive health providers are raising alarm about the thousands of patients that would be left without care if a proposal to cut off Medicaid funding from family planning providers comes to pass. As federal funding and systems dwindle, states are left to decide how and whether to make up the difference.
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, which oversees health care, approved a massive tax cut and spending bill this week, which proposes the largest cuts to Medicaid in the history of the program, and would leave more than 8 million Americans without coverage. But a part of the bill also proposes cutting off funding to any non-profit health care providers that offer abortions and receive more than $1 million in Medicaid funding.
That means two of Maine’s largest family planning service providers, both of whom serve a large number of patients on MaineCare — the state’s Medicaid program — may no longer be reimbursed by the federal government for services. Both Planned Parenthood and Maine Family Planning have policies to serve patients regardless of their ability to pay, meaning they would still commit to providing services for patients, they said.
Medicaid reimbursements are already lower than what providers receive from private insurance, which means many Maine centers, particularly those in rural areas, are already facing significant deficits. With the likely loss of a major funding stream, these providers are now confronting a fiscal cliff, according to Olivia Pennington, director of advocacy and community engagement for Maine Family Planning, the largest network providing a wide range of services including abortions across 18 centers in Maine. “This is a clear attack on rural Mainers, on working class Mainers. Folks who otherwise may not be able to access the health centers if their local family planning clinic has to close its doors,” Pennington said.
Already, some rural health centers in Rumford, Damariscotta and Dexter can only stay open once or twice a week because of the persistent deficits these centers have been facing, she said. The targeted exclusion from Medicaid funding, which 47% of all Maine Family Planning patients used last year, further jeopardizes the services they can provide, she said.
The bill “segregates abortion providers, and cuts folks off from making us their provider of choice,” said Lisa Margulies, vice president of public affairs for the Maine Planned Parenthood centers. “There’s an intention to destabilize our funding streams, such that we aren’t able to fulfill our core mission, and really put us out of business,” she said.
The centers’ ability to use Medicaid or Title X, a federal grant that supports family planning services for low-income individuals, is already restricted by the Hyde Amendment, a provision prohibiting the use of federal funds to pay for abortions that Donald Trump reinstated at the start of his second term.
Maine Family Planning has been subject to regular audits to make sure Medicaid funding is not used for abortion, Pennington said.
It is not clear how Maine’s Congressional delegation is going to vote on the proposed health care cuts, but during a press conference on Friday, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England CEO Nicole Clegg said the organization expects them to reject the proposal. “Based on their long-standing record of opposing defunding efforts of Planned Parenthood and restrictions to reproductive health providers, our expectation is that they would not support any of these proposals moving forward.”
In light of the proposed cuts, the providers are hoping the Maine Legislature can help fill the funding gap. They highlighted a bill that would provide $6 million a year for family planning services, including routine gynecological exams, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, birth control, cancer screening, and gender-affirming and behavioral health care.
“We really see this bill as essential for weathering the national storm, sort of weatherproofing our family planning care network in the midst of these potential federal defunds,” Marguiles said. “It’s really critical that the state partners with us in providing care to anyone who needs it.”
Both the Maine House and Senate cast initial votes to pass the legislation, but then it was placed on the appropriations table, where it will compete with many other funding needs for whatever is available as the state faces a substantial budget deficit.
SOURCE: Maine Morning Star, by Eesha Pendharkar, 17 May 2025. Photo by Lauren McCauley/ Maine Morning Star.