Pillen signs executive order barring abortion providers from participating in Medicaid

Gov. Jim Pillen signed an executive order Thursday aimed at keeping taxpayers from funding abortion services in Nebraska.

The order directs the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to review whether abortion providers terminated from Medicaid in other states are still participating in Nebraska’s Medicaid program.

The move comes months after the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Medina v. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, which ruled that states have the authority to exclude abortion providers under Medicaid.

“We as taxpayers should not be funding abortion services period, pure and simple,” Pillen said. “Under this executive order, any provider, including abortion clinics, terminated from another state's Medicaid program, will have their enrollment terminated here in Nebraska.”

South Carolina currently has a state order prohibiting Medicaid funds from going to abortion providers, and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt issued an executive order in August directing the state to stop public funding for individuals or organizations affiliated with abortion providers.

The passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” budget reconciliation package over the summer already restricted federal Medicaid funds from going to abortion providers.

“Federal law and Nebraska law and regulations are crystal, crystal clear,” Pillen said. “If a provider is kicked out of Medicaid anywhere in the country, they don't get to come here and keep taking Nebraska's taxpayer dollars. That's the kind of reciprocity we work with in Nebraska.”

Attorney General Mike Hilgers said women in Nebraska still have other options for pregnancy care outside of Planned Parenthood.

“There's a whole host of high-quality providers in the state of Nebraska who have survived and are functioning without providing abortion services,” he said. “This is about ensuring taxpayer dollars don't go to abortions, but it also, I think, will help get women the care that they need at places that actually will protect and support their health versus maybe what they've been getting so far.”

Currently, two clinics – one in Omaha and one in Bellevue – offer abortions in Nebraska, while a Planned Parenthood Location in Lincoln offers other pregnancy services.

Planned Parenthood North Central States, which includes Nebraska, said it has not billed Medicaid for services provided in Nebraska since Sept. 11, when a federal appeals court lifted an injunction that kept the federal budget reconciliation’s abortion-related Medicaid provisions from taking effect.

According to the Governor’s Office, Medicaid payments to abortion providers for non-abortion services in Nebraska were $172,164.11 in fiscal year 2024 and $341,972.18 in FY 2025.

“This executive order is nothing but a publicity stunt by state leaders meant to confuse Nebraskans about their health care options,” said Planned Parenthood North Central States CEO Ruth Richardson. “Nebraskans need birth control. They need cancer screenings. They need wellness exams. And, yes, they need abortion care.”

Mindy Rush Chipman, the ACLU of Nebraska’s Executive Director, also pushed back on the governor’s executive order.

“The reality is that this relentless push to defund clinics is going to threaten not just access to abortion care that Nebraskans need, but also birth control, cancer screenings, STI prevention, detection and treatment, and more,” she said. “The bottom line is that this has everything to do with forcing beliefs on others and nothing to do with health care.”

Nate Grasz, executive director of Nebraska Family Alliance, applauded the governor’s move.

“Women and babies in Nebraska deserve better than to be abandoned to the harms of the abortion industry, and Nebraska taxpayers should not be forced to fund an industry that ends the lives of pre-born babies in the womb,” he said.

The executive order does not change the legality of abortion in the state. Abortion remains legal in Nebraska up to 12 weeks, following the passage of a law that took effect in 2023.