Joan Feldman Quoted in Law360 Article Entitled “Supreme Court Medina Ruling Erodes Public Health Networks”

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2025 decision in Medina v. Planned Parenthood, many states are moving to remove Planned Parenthood from Medicaid and other public benefit programs, significantly affecting access to care for low-income and rural patients. The Court ruled that Medicaid beneficiaries cannot sue states for violating the law’s “any-qualified-provider” provision, which allows patients to choose their own doctors. This effectively gave states the green light to exclude Planned Parenthood from Medicaid—even though Medicaid funds cannot be used for abortions under the Hyde Amendment. Since the decision, at least four states, including Oklahoma, Indiana, and Arizona, have used the ruling to justify cutting Planned Parenthood from their programs, and others are revisiting prior lawsuits to do the same. Joan Feldman, Chair of Shipman’s Health Law Practice is quoted in this Law360 article entitled “Supreme Court Medina Ruling Erodes Public Health Networks.”

According to the article, healthcare experts and advocates warn that these moves will severely restrict access to preventive and reproductive health services, particularly for women in underserved areas. Clinics that depend on Medicaid reimbursements for services such as cancer screenings, contraception, and STI testing could close or drastically scale back operations. In Texas, where Planned Parenthood has been excluded from Medicaid for years, contraceptive claims fell by over 30% after funding was cut—a trend other states may soon mirror. Planned Parenthood officials report that the patchwork of state restrictions is creating widespread confusion among patients about where they can get care, with many now traveling long distances or going without essential services altogether. As noted by Joan Feldman in the article, those who will likely be most adversely affected will be Medicaid patients themselves. "Medicaid patients often struggle to access private providers who don't participate in Medicaid, or if they do, limit the number of patients they see."

The article suggests that the Medina decision’s ripple effects extend beyond Planned Parenthood. Legal experts suggest that it may empower states to remove other healthcare providers from Medicaid—such as those offering transgender care or other politically controversial services—by barring them entirely from the program rather than merely restricting specific treatments. Said Feldman of this concern, “I think that Planned Parenthood is most likely step one in the effort to defund or remove providers who provide this service from Medicaid.” Compounding the situation, the recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act temporarily eliminates all federal Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood nationwide, a measure currently being challenged in court. Together, these developments signal a profound shift in how states can shape public healthcare access, potentially eroding long-standing patient protections and widening gaps in reproductive and preventive care for millions of Americans.

Click here to read the full article online or download a printable pdf.