Planned Parenthood forced to cease primary care in O.C. due to federal defunding

Citing a defunding provision in President Trump’s budget reconciliation bill, Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties announced this week it can no longer offer primary care services for 13,000 patients in its service area.

Officials Monday announced the imminent closure of Melody Health, which for the last 12 years has provided wellness visits, vaccines, diabetes management and behavioral health for the nonprofit.

The federal provision prohibits Planned Parenthood from seeking Medicaid reimbursements for services provided by federally funded programs, PPOSBC President and Chief Executive Krista Hollinger said Tuesday.

“Our Melody Health program is a Medicaid-managed health contract, so we’re no longer able to use that,” Hollinger said. “All of those patients are now going to have to find new providers.”

The closure necessitates the layoff of 77 staff members who work in health centers in Costa Mesa, Anaheim, Santa Ana and elsewhere across the two counties. Another four health educators who conduct school programs in Orange and San Bernardino counties are also being eliminated due to a cessation in federal grant funding stipulated in the budget bill.

Both the layoffs and the closure will be effective Dec. 13.

Hollinger said while the intent of Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” appears to be to hamstring the nonprofit known nationally for providing medical abortions, its provisions won’t actually impact Planned Parenthood’s ability to continue to offer pregnancy termination, funded by the state.

“[The federal cuts were] absolutely about abortion,” she said. “[But] the greatest irony about this is federal funds never paid for abortions. They came after abortion, but they’re taking away everything else that we do.”

The defunding will impact roughly 9,000 women in Orange County, from about 19 years of age into their early 50s, who receive primary care through Planned Parenthood.

“This is a very vulnerable population, and we have more Medicaid cuts coming down the line,” Hollinger said. “It’s been a challenge for us to keep our doors open. And if Planned Parenthood closes its doors, there’s not going to be a safety net for patients to access care.”

Planned Parenthood operates 114 clinics in California and serves more than 1 million people each year, about 80% of whom use Medi-Cal, according to news outlet CalMatters. Although the nonprofit is the state’s largest abortion provider, abortions comprise less than 10% of the health care services it offers annually.