NC House votes to block Medicaid patients from getting care at Planned Parenthood

Lawmakers transformed an HOA reform bill into a measure restricting preventative care access for thousands of low-income North Carolinians.

For many North Carolinians who rely on Medicaid, Planned Parenthood has been the only place they could consistently see a doctor for birth control, cancer screenings, or STI treatment. Now, that access is in jeopardy.

Last week, the North Carolina House voted 61-47 to pass a bill that would block Medicaid patients from using their coverage at Planned Parenthood health centers. The proposal could affect thousands of low-income patients who depend on the program for preventative care.

The measure, a substitute version of Senate Bill 378, received no Democratic support. Originally filed in March as “HOA Revisions,” to address homeowners association disputes, the bill was replaced with language that would effectively remove Planned Parenthood from the state’s Medicaid network. Senate Bill 378’s passage comes one month after the Senate passed a similar proposal, House Bill 192, and follows a series of federal and state actions aligned with President Trump’s efforts to “defund” Planned Parenthood nationwide.

If enacted, Planned Parenthood South Atlantic officials said the new law would prevent Medicaid patients from receiving coverage for birth control, STI testing and pap smears, cancer screenings, and annual exams at their clinics across North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Additionally, the bill effectively mirrors Republicans’ “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” upheld in September by a federal appeals court, which allowed a nationwide Medicaid ban on Planned Parenthood coverage to take effect.

“Never before has a qualified health care provider been kicked out of the Medicaid program purely for political reasons,” said Paige Johnson, president and CEO of PPSAT. “President Trump and his followers in Congress have callously taken away essential, preventive health care from millions of Americans and stripped them of their right to go to the provider of their choice, all in service to tax cuts for corporations and to advance an extreme, anti-abortion political agenda…It is an abject cruelty that cannot be overstated, and many people don’t yet know that it’s happening to them.”

Impact worse in the South

The impact is expected to be especially severe in the South, where shortages of community health care providers are widespread. Twelve percent of PPSAT’s patients rely on Medicaid coverage, and in North Carolina alone, one in four residents depends on Medicaid for essential services.

The state’s budget deadlock has only deepened the uncertainty for Medicaid patients, as cuts earlier this month forced the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to reduce reimbursement rates and other programs resources, leaving many patients uncertain about where they can seek care.

Jillian Riley, director of public affairs for PPSAT, said the revised SB 378 exemplifies how Trump-aligned legislators are embedding national policies into state law, and “playing politics with people’s lives.”

“Instead of stepping up to help North Carolinians who rely on Medicaid for their care or pass a state budget, our legislative majority is carrying out President Trump’s MAGA agenda by gerrymandering maps and restricting access to affordable health care,” she said. “We will continue to fight this bill, and any attempt to strip North Carolinians of access to affordable preventive health care.”

PPSAT officials said they are working to help patients transition to new providers to navigate financial assistance options, but many will still fail through the cracks. Dr. Katherine Farris, PPSAT’s chief medical officer, said the region’s existing provider shortage makes it nearly impossible to replace the capacity Planned Parenthood offers.

“We live in a region where there already aren’t enough community health care providers, especially for people who rely on Medicaid, and many people will simply not be able to get the health care they need,” Farris said. “[But] we will continue to hold our doors wide open for the people who depend on us, and we will never stop fighting to provide quality, compassionate care to our patients—no matter what.”

 SB 378 now heads back to the Senate before reaching Governor Josh Stein’s desk for a potential veto. In a social post the day SB 378 passed the House, Stein criticized Republicans in the General Assembly for prioritizing politics over people.

“Republicans in the General Assembly seem to have forgotten that they work for you, the people of North Carolina,” he said. “They left today without: passing a comprehensive budget, paying teachers and law enforcement what they deserve, protecting people’s health care and fully funding Medicaid. It is shameful. They need to get their priorities straight.”