Washington to Backfill Planned Parenthood Medicaid Cuts

After President Donald Trump’s 'Big Beautiful Bill' imposed a one-year moratorium on Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson pledged to use state funds to cover the approximately $11 million in lost federal support if legal challenges fail. The law, effective immediately, is part of wider Medicaid reductions that could cost Washington up to $3 billion annually. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the funding ban, but the lawsuit's outcome remains uncertain. Ferguson said the emergency funding would come from the state’s Health Care Authority and would be a temporary, one-year measure. Planned Parenthood and state leaders have criticized the federal cuts as politically motivated, warning they threaten essential preventive and reproductive healthcare for over 100,000 patients. Additionally, reductions in Washington's own reproductive health budget are compounding financial pressures on clinics and patients.