One Big Beautiful Bill’s Impact on Planned Parenthood

The one-year Medicaid moratorium introduced by the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” could significantly affect major abortion providers, but it’s important to note that Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the U.S., has been experiencing a steady decline for decades. While refund provisions can strain businesses financially, it’s clear that Planned Parenthood’s struggles began long before Congress passed this bill.

When the bill was first presented in the House of Representatives in May 2025, the American Federation of Planned Parenthood claimed that federal government refunds could threaten 200 health centers with closure. From May to July, Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) actively lobbied Congress. They even urged supporters to “rush” donations in response to the looming financial threat.

It’s evident that Planned Parenthood is not the powerful entity it once was.

To leverage the political climate, PPFA announced the closure of its Cleveland Clinic in late May 2025. While they hinted at federal funding cuts as a reason, the bill had not yet been signed into law. The closure was strategically significant.

Moreover, it raises an interesting question: when’s the best time to rally public support for donations amidst looming federal rebates?

The Cleveland closure isn’t an isolated incident. In fact, long before the impact of the bill, 66 Planned Parenthood locations shut down in the U.S. between January 2022 and May 2025. A report from February 2025 indicated that the organization had shrunk from over 5 million patients across 900 clinics in the 1990s to just 2.1 million patients in about 600 clinics today.

Once a formidable presence, Planned Parenthood has clearly diminished.

The passage of the BBB provides a convenient scapegoat for PPFA to explain its clinic closures. Notably, in July, they shut down 25 clinics, including their Mega Clinic in Houston, despite ongoing legal battles that delayed the implementation of the Medicaid moratorium.

Interestingly, PPFA’s reports suggest a rise in abortion numbers even as general services plummet. Services related to breast exams, cancer screenings, and other health checks have dropped by 70% since 2010, and contraceptive services have decreased by 39%. In 2023 and 2024, prenatal services accounted for just a tiny fraction of their offerings, highlighting a shift in focus towards abortion.

At the same time, taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood has increased by 50% since 2013, making up 39% of their total revenue, which was around $792.2 million in 2024. Yet it’s crucial to remember that Medicaid refunds cannot be used for abortions.

Even before the BBB’s passage, PPFA was increasingly reliant on taxpayer funds.

The conditions across remaining clinics are yet another troubling sign of decline. Reports have surfaced of health and safety violations, concerns about failed abortions, and outdated facilities.

It appears that the issues facing Planned Parenthood and its affiliates emerged long before the BBB’s one-year disclaimer. Still, following the bill’s passage, PPFA was quick to assign blame to it.

In a rather dramatic post on social media, PPFA warned, “Without our health centers, cancer goes undiagnosed, STIs go untreated, and access to contraception becomes harder.” However, this narrative is misleading. There are approximately 19,000 federally qualified health centers that are government-funded and available to Medicaid recipients, providing essential healthcare services that Planned Parenthood claims to offer.

In essence, women do not need the 500 failing abortion clinics that Planned Parenthood operates.

The combination of high abortion rates, declining general services, and a growing dependency on taxpayer dollars suggests that the refund provisions in the BBB could push major providers like Planned Parenthood closer to closure.

For now, American taxpayers may find some relief, knowing that their dollars won’t be funding a struggling abortion provider. If PPFA faces financial difficulties, the blame cannot solely rest on the one big beautiful bill from the President, as the decline of these businesses has been years in the making.