Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley awarded $250,000 in county discretionary funds to Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties (PPOSBC) on Thursday, July 23, directing the money toward contraceptive services after a year-long federal Medicaid ban cut revenue at the organization's local clinics.
The grant comes from Foley's Fifth District Discretionary Fund, an allocation each supervisor controls independently. District 5 includes Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Laguna Beach, and several other South Orange County cities. The action does not require a vote by the full Board of Supervisors or any Newport Beach city body, and no public comment period or future hearing is scheduled.
The funding targets PPOSBC facilities including the Costa Mesa Health Center, the clinic nearest to Newport Beach. That location logged 17,880 medical visits between July 2025 and June 2026, according to Foley's office.
"As federal cuts threaten providers who serve Medicaid patients, we must step up to fill the gaps," Foley said in a statement released July 23. "Every resident deserves access to the best health care Orange County offers."
A year without Medicaid billing
The award follows a year in which Planned Parenthood lost Medicaid billing access nationwide. A provision in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act barred the organization from billing Medicaid for non-abortion services from July 4, 2025, through July 4, 2026. During that period, Planned Parenthood closed nearly 30 of its roughly 600 clinics nationally, dispensed about 25 percent fewer packs of birth control pills, and conducted about 20 percent fewer breast cancer exams, according to the Los Angeles Times.
In October 2025, PPOSBC announced it could no longer offer primary care to 13,000 patients in its service area and shut down its Melody Health program, laying off 77 staff members. The cuts affected roughly 9,000 women in Orange County who received primary care through Planned Parenthood, according to the Daily Pilot.
"This is a very vulnerable population, and we have more Medicaid cuts coming down the line," PPOSBC President and CEO Krista Hollinger said in October 2025, when the organization announced the Melody Health closure. "It's been a challenge for us to keep our doors open."
Federal funding restored, but uncertainty lingers
The Medicaid ban expired July 4, 2026, and Planned Parenthood affiliates can once again bill the federal program for services like birth control and STI screenings. But the year-long gap left closed clinics and reduced staff. Planned Parenthood's vice president of political and legislative affairs, Nora Walsh-DeVries, told Politico in early July that the defunding caused "irreparable damage" to many communities, with two-thirds of clinic closures hitting rural or medically underserved areas.
Foley framed her award as filling gaps left by the federal cuts. The total size of the Fifth District Discretionary Fund budget is not listed in the press release, so it is unclear what share of Foley's annual allocation the $250,000 represents.
Among those present at the Thursday presentation were PPOSBC CEO Hollinger, Board of Directors Chair Ray Jankowski, and Costa Mesa Health Center Co-Manager Jazmine Loya. The Costa Mesa clinic's 17,880 visits over the past year make it one of the busiest access points for reproductive health care in southern Orange County.
