A network of Maine reproductive health care clinics announced Wednesday that it has begun making cuts to some of its services because federal funding has ended.
Maine Family Planning, which operates 18 clinics around the state, stands to lose about 20% of its annual budget, or $1.9 million, because of a defunding provision in the Trump administration’s Big Beautiful Bill that eliminated Medicaid funding for non-abortion services offered by abortion providers.
After a U.S. District Court judge in Maine rejected the network’s request that the funding be temporarily restored while a lawsuit over the cuts plays out, Maine Family Planning asked the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston to temporarily restore the funding.
In a court filing Monday, Maine Family Planning said that without restoration of the funding, it will be forced to end its primary care services and discharge patients by Oct. 31. The network said it planned to notify patients that it would be discharging them and asked the court to make a decision by 5 p.m. Tuesday.
No decision was available in online court records as of 5 p.m. Tuesday, and it was not clear when one might be made.
“Congress’ defunding provision has had an immediate, devastating impact on the core of who we are and what we do,” said George Hill, President and CEO of Maine Family Planning. “The cruel and dangerous law has put us in an impossible situation. Discharging and turning away vulnerable patients strikes at the very heart of MFP’s reputation as a trusted community provider that has been able to serve patients of any means for more than 50 years.”
The case only involves Maine Family Planning, but it coincides with a similar lawsuit Planned Parenthood filed in Massachusetts. While a District Court judge in that case had initially ruled to allow a temporary pause on the funding cut, the injunction was paused by the 1st Circuit, which ruled this month to let the defunding take effect.
Nicole Clegg, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, said Planned Parenthood’s four health centers in Maine are still seeing Medicaid patients despite questions about whether reimbursements will eventually come through.
“If we stopped seeing Medicaid patients, there would be immediate harm felt in our state,” Clegg said. “They don’t have other resources or other providers that can see them.”
About 27% of Planned Parenthood patients in Maine, or about 7,100 people, rely on Medicaid for coverage of non-abortion services such as cancer screenings and testing, and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. About $1 million is at stake for Planned Parenthood in Maine.
Clegg said Planned Parenthood is using reserves to help cover costs while it waits for the legal challenges to play out. In addition to the Maine Family Planning and Planned Parenthood lawsuits, a coalition of states, including Maine, is suing the Trump administration over the defunding provision.
Lawmakers this year approved $6 million in one-time funding for Planned Parenthood and Maine Family Planning — money that was requested prior to passage of the Big Beautiful Bill due to a rise in demand, increasing costs and the potential for federal cuts.
Clegg said that money is intended to help offset millions of dollars in free care that was already being provided prior to the federal Medicaid defunding.
While Planned Parenthood is continuing to treat Medicaid patients, Maine Family Planning has said it will no longer be able to sustain its primary care practice without the ability to bill for reimbursements. The group currently serves nearly 1,000 primary patients at locations in Ellsworth, Houlton and Presque Isle, and will work to help patients find new providers.
The network said in court filings that an end to its primary care services will put a strain on the health care system in rural parts of the state and could disrupt patients’ ongoing treatment.
Chief U.S. District Judge Lance Walker rejected Maine Family Planning’s request for temporary restoration of the funding last month while its suit challenging the cuts plays out, saying in part that the funding decision is for Congress, not the judicial branch, to make.
Maine Family Planning has argued that the defunding provision unfairly targets Medicaid providers who also provide abortions and violates the Constitution’s equal protection guarantee by treating certain providers differently from others who are still able to bill Medicaid.
The network of clinics will continue to provide the full range of sexual and reproductive health care services to all patients, a spokesperson said.
