Planned Parenthood Shutters 5 NorCal Clinics After Trump Slashes Funding

Updated 4:45 p.m. Friday

Just weeks after President Donald Trump signed a spending bill that effectively defunded Planned Parenthood, the nonprofit’s largest affiliate is shutting down five clinics, including in South San Francisco and San Mateo.

Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, which serves Northern California, the Central Coast and Nevada, will also shutter its Santa Cruz, Gilroy and Madera centers, citing a drastic loss in funding since Trump signed the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill” on July 4.

“This law is clearly a back-door ban on abortion in reproductive freedom states, and the drastic loss of funding has forced Planned Parenthood Mar Monte … to close five of its 35 health centers,” the organization wrote in a statement on social media Thursday.

Trump’s new tax bill contains wide cuts to federally subsidized health care and food assistance programs and prohibits organizations that perform abortions and receive more than $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements annually from recouping that money. In a statement, Mar Monte said the bill is “prohibiting Medicaid reimbursements to healthcare organizations that exactly match the description of Planned Parenthood.”

Medical clinics already can’t use federal dollars to fund abortion care, due to a prohibition dating back to 1977, but they can seek reimbursements for other services performed on patients who have Medicaid, like STI testing and routine health checks. Planned Parenthood Mar Monte said about 80% of patients across its 35 clinics rely on Medicaid, and it gets about $100 million, half of its annual revenue, through the federal reimbursements.

The five shuttered centers served more than 22,000 patients over the last year, the organization said, many of whom have low income and rely on them for affordable health care.

“We’re witnessing the real-world ramifications of the shameful extremism embodied by the Republican House majority,” said Rep. Kevin Mullin (D-San Mateo), whose district includes two of the shuttered clinics. In a statement, he said the medical centers “have long served as a lifeline for thousands of patients in our community, many of whom are low-income, uninsured, or unable to access quality health care elsewhere.”

According to Mullin, people in his district, which spans much of the Bay Area’s Peninsula, have relied on Planned Parenthood for years for cancer screenings, contraception and general health services.

“Women will go without Pap smears, mammograms and prenatal care. Young people will lose access to birth control. Families will be denied basic preventative services,” added Assemblymember Dianne Papan (D-San Mateo) in a statement.

According to Mar Monte Spokesperson Andrew Adams, the organization chose to close health centers strategically where there are other nonprofit health options available and other Mar Monte clinics nearby.

He said he expects the vast majority of patients who have been seen at the shuttered clinics will get care at another of the organization’s facilities.

“When we closed yesterday at those five places, our staff got on the phone and for patients that had appointments today or next week, we let them know that they can continue to be seen and we’re happy to reschedule for nearby health centers,” he said.

Mar Monte will also sunset three programs, including prenatal care and behavioral health, at its 30 remaining centers.

“We are not backing down, but we must have the resources to continue this fight and to continue to provide care to the hundreds of thousands who rely on [Planned Parenthood Mar Monte],” the branch said in its statement.

Adams said Mar Monte has lost $1.7 million in reimbursements in one week as its clinics continued to administer care. By the end of July, he predicts the organization will lose nearly $5 million.

“We knew that that business model is not sustainable. We can’t keep doing that, unfortunately,” Adams told KQED Friday. “We knew that we had to close some health centers in order to remain sustainable.”

The organization will need to build up other funding streams to protect against deeper cuts, Adams said. Mar Monte is working with the state to see if they can still utilize state-level Medicaid funding — known as Medi-Cal — as well as considering new services that attract patients and can be paid for with cash and leaning more heavily on donors.

“We’re really relying on the state to help fill the gap and we’re asking our donors to help bridge this time period while we come up with a more sustainable business model,” Adams told KQED.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America has already sued the Trump administration over the budget bill, but a temporary order issued by a district judge in Massachusetts this week will allow the federal government to withhold reimbursements to most clinics, including all in California, while the court case plays out.

Mar Monte said the legal challenge faces a tough road ahead, as it could likely advance to the Supreme Court, which it described as “adversarial” to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.