Medicaid Reimbursement Rate Increase in Minnesota

NIRH worked closely with partners at Our Justice and Whole Woman’s Health Alliance (WWHA) to achieve an increase in Medicaid reimbursement rates for abortion care providers. In 2023, in talking to clinics and providers, it became clear to Our Justice and WWHA that providers needed financial support to continue providing abortion care to Minnesotans. Many people seeking abortion care in Minnesota use Medicaid as their primary insurance and Medicaid reimbursement rate for providers was far too low to be economically sustainable. This gap between availability and accessibility has become even more stark as the Dobbs decision made Minnesota an important hub for abortion access in the Midwest. With the advocacy and support from NIRH, Minnesota included a 20% increase in the Medicaid reimbursement rate for all providers in their budget. Our Justice used the advocacy efforts to build deeper relationships with state legislators and build legislator knowledge and expertise around Medicaid reimbursement for abortion care. This was a great success and only just the beginning of the work and funding needed to keep the abortion provider ecosystem in Minnesota sustainable.