Planned Parenthoods in Worcester, Marlborough get state money amid Trump defunding efforts

Photo I Courtesy of Google Maps Planned Parenthood's Central Massachusetts Health Center in Worcester

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In the wake of the President Donald Trump Administration’s efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts has received $2 million in funding through the state’s fiscal 2026 budget to support residents’ access to sexual and reproductive health care throughout the state.

Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts operates four locations in the commonwealth including its Central Massachusetts Health Center in Worcester and its Metro West Health Center in Marlborough.

As the state fully covers abortion services, the $2 million in funding will instead be funnelled toward covering services such as cancer screenings, breast exams, Pap smears, contraception, and sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, according to a Thursday press release from the Gov. Maura Healey Administration.

The funding will not be divided up individually by location. Instead, the money will support the continuity of care across all four Massachusetts and its statewide telehealth services, said Caroline Kimball-Katz, director of communications and marketing for PPLM.

“President Trump is continuing his assault on women's access to essential health care, including abortion, by cutting off federal funding for most Planned Parenthood clinics across the country. Massachusetts will continue to fully cover abortion services through our MassHealth program, and Planned Parenthood of Massachusetts will continue to offer that care,” Healey said in the release.

The Trump Administration is attempting to strip federal Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood sites that received more than $800,000 from the program in 2023. The defunding efforts are part of Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill passed on July 4: a 900-page legislative package including approximately $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid funding.

On Monday, a Boston federal judge temporarily blocked the Medicaid cuts to Planned Parenthood sites that either don’t offer abortion services or had not received the $800,000 financial threshold.

“In Massachusetts … we will protect our residents and stand with women. With this funding for Planned Parenthood, we are stepping up to safeguard access to health care, because every person deserves reproductive care, no matter their background. I am deeply grateful to Gov. Healey for signing this provision into law, and swiftly disbursing these funds,” Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland) said in the release.

Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.