Medicaid lawsuit defunds Planned Parenthood. Will SLO County will be affected?
The latest legal fight over the future of reproductive health is set to cut off access to Planned Parenthood’s services for millions of Americans — but in San Luis Obispo County, the impact may be tempered.
On Thursday, the First District Court of Appeals upheld a motion from the federal Department of Justice in a lawsuit between the reproductive health provider and the Trump administration that would prevent people covered by Medicaid from using it to pay for services provided by Planned Parenthood.
While Planned Parenthood and 22 states including California continue to fight the ruling in court, the coverage status of millions of patients will be left up in the air.
In a statement, Planned Parenthood of California Central Coast CEO Jenna Tosh said the decision to effectively defund reproductive healthcare for millions of Americans will impact all Planned Parenthoods across the nation, including the six clinics on the Central Coast.
But she also emphasized the clinics are seeking alternative funding sources to ensure uninterrupted care.
“Make no mistake, the fight is not over,” Tosh said in a statement. “We continue to pursue every avenue to ensure patients on the Central Coast can continue to access the care they deserve.”
How will SLO County’s Planned Parenthood be impacted by Medicaid cutoff?
Nationwide, Planned Parenthood’s situation is far more dire than on the Central Coast.
According to a July 4 blog post by Planned Parenthood CEO Alexis McGill Johnson around the time of the Trump administration’s lawsuit, the government’s attempt to defund Planned Parenthood by cutting off Medicaid money will put around 200 health centers in 24 states at risk of closing.
Nationwide, more than half of all Planned Parenthood patients — or around 1.1 million people — are covered by Medicaid and could lose access to a variety of reproductive health care services, according to the blog post.
“Across the country, hundreds of Planned Parenthood health centers will keep their doors open to patients, providing care — including birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, wellness visits, and abortion where it’s legal,” McGill said in the blog post. “But because of this bill, which will weaken the already-fragile U.S. health care system, some Planned Parenthood affiliates will be forced to make shifts and may close some of their health centers.”
According to a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood’s California Central Coast region, nearly 70% of all patients who have made use of the six clinics in the region rely on Medicaid — or Medi-Cal, California’s version of the low-income health care program — for health coverage.
California Planned Parenthood lost all federal funding — around $300 million — earlier this year in a preliminary court order issued during a lawsuit by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America against the Trump administration over the “One Big Beautiful Bill” act’s prohibition of Medicaid reimbursements for abortion providers.
Reimbursements from Medicaid account for around 60% of Planned Parenthood California Central Coast’s total annual revenue, according to a July 22 news release from the provider on the defunding.
According to the spokesperson, the provider’s California Central Coast division is currently using alternate funding sources to make sure no patients’ care is interrupted by the “cruel political attack.”
The Planned Parenthood California Central Coast spokesperson emphasized that no clients will be turned away based on insurance status while the status of Medicaid funding is up in the air.
“In the meantime, our doors will remain open, and we will continue to see patients, regardless of their insurance status, for all health services at all of our locations,” Tosh said in a statement.
This story was originally published September 16, 2025 at 10:00 AM.
