States can block the country's biggest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, from receiving Medicaid money for health services such as contraception and cancer screenings without facing lawsuits from patients,

The federal government and many states already block using Medicaid funds to cover abortion. But the state-federal health insurance program for lower-income people does pay for other services from Planned Parenthood, including birth control, cancer screenings and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections.