More than 40 local government and leaders urge court to protect access to health care for millions of Medicaid patients

For immediate release: Oct. 14, 2025

Media contact: Jackie Jena, jackie@publicrightsproject.org

BOSTON, MA — With a nationwide coalition of 42 local governments and leaders, Public Rights Project urged an appeals court to protect Medicaid funding for essential health care providers, including Planned Parenthood.

Public Rights Project filed an amicus brief in Planned Parenthood v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to keep a preliminary injunction in place. This would ensure Medicaid funding is disbursed while the legal case proceeds.

The case centers on a provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that ends funding to qualified Medicaid providers like Planned Parenthood. Our brief explains that the federal government is harming local governments and their residents by making it harder for people to get a range of health care services. 

“This is another blatant attempt to strip pregnant people of their autonomy and rights,” said Jill Habig, founder and CEO of Public Rights Project. “By targeting Planned Parenthood, the federal government is burdening local health systems, worsening health outcomes and straining limited local resources. This harms millions of people who rely on Medicaid for a range of health care services.”

Relying on the experiences of local government leaders, the brief explains that people depend on Planned Parenthood for preventive screenings, sexual and reproductive health services, and public health education. It also argues that fewer providers puts a greater strain on local health systems, causes worse health outcomes and financially burdens local governments that must fill the gap.

In Harris County, Texas, for example, nearly 1 million residents rely on Medicaid coverage to access health care. Already, clinics in some areas of the country, like Ohio, have closed or reduced services, forcing patients to travel farther or go without care. In Texas, where Planned Parenthood has already been removed as a Medicaid provider, patients have faced reduced access to care and longer wait times for both routine and urgent reproductive health services. Extending this policy nationwide would magnify those harms, cutting off critical care for people who rely on Medicaid.

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Public Rights Project
As a nonpartisan nonprofit organization, Public Rights Project helps local government officials fight for civil rights. We do this by building their capacity to protect and advance civil rights, convening and connecting them on issues of civil rights, and providing legal representation to governments to help them win in court on behalf of their residents. Since our founding, we’ve built a network of over 1,300 partners, including elected officials and 227 government offices across all 50 states, and helped recover over $46 million in relief for marginalized people. www.publicrightsproject.org