The Price of Project 2025’s Abortion Plan: $300 Million Cut to Medi-Cal

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If President-elect Donald Trump moves forward with the 2025 project, California could lose at least $300 million a year in funding for abortions, family planning and contraception for millions of low-income residents.

Project 2025, a right-wing blueprint for the next president, issued an ultimatum to the state that would require California to begin reporting abortion data to the Centers for Disease Control or risk losing crucial Medicaid funding.

Despite Trump’s attempts to distance himself from the plan during the campaign, at least 140 of his allies have produced the report and he is appointing key figures from the project to his administration. As California leaders rush to protect the state from a Trump agenda, preserving reproductive freedoms is a top priority.

Newsom has called a special session next month to make California “Trump-proof,” and he is hiring lawyers to prepare for the first day of the Trump presidency.

“Whether it’s our basic civil rights, reproductive freedom or climate action, we refuse to turn back the clock and allow our values ​​and laws to be attacked,” Newsom said in a statement.

When CalMatters first reported on the ultimatum in September, the California Department of Public Health did not provide exact numbers showing how much the state received in federal reimbursements for reproductive health care provided by Medi-Cal. According to the California Department of Public Health, the federal government reimbursed California about $310.7 million for reproductive health care last year, the department said. Last year, the state received $334.5 million. This funding benefits Medi-Cal, the largest single payer of maternity care in the country. Medi-Cal serves approximately 14.2 million Californians. In total, the federal government reimbursed the state $90.9 billion for Medi-Cal last year.

Under Project 2025, all 50 states would be required to report detailed abortion-related data to the federal government, including information such as the reason for the abortion, the gestational age of the fetus, the birthing parent’s state of residence, and whether the procedure was surgical or drug-induced, and more.

Currently, California, Maryland and New Hampshire do not require abortion providers to share patient information with the federal government. Shortly after the overturn of Roe v. Wade explained that the California Department of Public Health does not report federal abortion data because it is not legally required to do so. States that collect abortion data typically use it for public health analyzes that can help identify gaps in care and improve access to services.

Newsom’s office did not provide details on the expected cost of the legal effort, but said the governor is planning legislation to provide additional resources to the California Department of Corrections and other state agencies.

These funds are intended to “provide robust litigation against any unlawful actions by the new Trump administration and defend against federal lawsuits seeking to undermine California’s laws and policies,” the governor’s office said. “The funding will support the ability to immediately file litigation and seek injunctive relief against unlawful federal actions.”

Trump has selected two people associated with Project 2025 for roles in his administration. Brendan Carr, who wrote the Federal Communications Commission section of Project 2025, will lead the agency.

Tom Homan, an immigration hawk listed in Project 2025’s credits as having contributed to the development and writing of the script, will serve as border czar, overseeing immigration policy and implementing mass deportation strategies. The position is not an official Cabinet position.

To head the Department of Health and Human Services, Trump appointed Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmental lawyer who previously fought over vaccination requirements in California. . The department controls oversight of Medicaid spending and plays a critical role in abortion reporting, setting federal guidelines and enforcing privacy protections under HIPAA.

Kennedy does not appear to have endorsed Project 2025. His stance on abortion has been particularly inconsistent over time. In May, he expressed support for full access to abortion and said he opposed any government restrictions, “even if it’s a full abortion.”