A network of Maine reproductive healthcare clinics announced on Wednesday that it has begun making cuts to some of its services due to the end of federal funding, as reported by the Portland Press Herald’s Rachel Ohm.
“Maine Family Planning, which operates 18 clinics around the state, stands to lose about 20 percent 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,” Ohm wrote.
“The organization announced it has begun notifying patients (nearly 1,000) that their primary care practices in Ellsworth, Presque Isle, and Houlton will shut down on October 31, 2025, citing the immediate fallout from President Donald Trump’s budget reconciliation bill,” Channa Steinmetz wrote for Maine Beacon.
“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, in a statement, reported by Steinmetz. “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.”
Maine Family Planning fought to prevent the halt of Medicaid funds in federal court, Patrick Whittle and Geoff Mulvihill reported for APNews. However, they wrote, it faced a setback in August when a federal judge ruled against restoring funding during the network’s ongoing lawsuit against the Trump administration. The network has appealed to a higher court but has not yet received a response.
Maine Family Planning is one of three health organizations nationwide that the federal government has barred from receiving Medicaid reimbursements until the end of September 2026, according to a provision in President Donald Trump’s tax and spending law, Whittle and Mulvihill wrote. It targets groups that provide abortion and receive more than $800,000 annually in Medicaid reimbursements. Medicaid does not cover abortion.
