Hochul Funnels $35 Million to Planned Parenthood After Federal Medicaid Cuts

Governor Kathy Hochul announced Friday that New York will use state money to replace federal Medicaid funds stripped from Planned Parenthood by Republicans in Congress — a move critics say highlights her relentless progressive agenda and disregard for fiscal restraint.

According to Hochul, the decision ensures coverage for more than 200,000 patients across New York, including over 100,000 Medicaid recipients who depend on Planned Parenthood’s 47 health centers.

“Washington Republicans have shown time and again that they’ll stop at nothing to undermine women’s health care,” Hochul said. “I’ve directed the state to fund these vital services. I will always stand up for reproductive rights and the health care New Yorkers deserve.”

The governor’s plan comes in response to H.R. 1 legislation passed earlier this year that bars federal Medicaid dollars from going to organizations that provide abortion services. That ban directly impacts Planned Parenthood’s five New York affiliates, effectively cutting off Medicaid reimbursements not just for abortion but for all of the other services they provide.

Hochul’s pledge means state taxpayers will now carry the cost of keeping the clinics afloat, including services such as contraception, HIV prevention, cancer screenings, and prenatal care. Planned Parenthood affiliates welcomed the intervention, warning that without it many clinics in rural and underserved areas would have been forced to slash services or close.

Still, Republicans argue the governor is once again prioritizing divisive progressive causes over broader state needs. To them, the decision illustrates the same pattern seen in her gun-control initiatives, climate policies, and health mandates: Hochul moving New York further to the left.

The funding announcement is part of her wider reproductive rights platform, which already includes $25 million annually for abortion services, new legal protections for abortion providers, and a statewide “Abortion Access Program.” Critics point out that while Hochul frames these steps as essential for “health equity,” they come as New York faces budget pressures, rising crime, and declining population.

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Hochul Funnels $35 Million to Planned Parenthood After Federal Medicaid Cuts