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Most people visit Planned Parenthood for their reproductive health needs, but America’s largest Planned Parenthood affiliate announced last week via The Wall Street Journal that they're rolling out new services you’d otherwise get at a med spa.
Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, which operates 30 health centers in mid-California and Northern Nevada, now offers services "like neurotoxin (commonly known as botox)" injections and IV hydration packages at some of its locations, according to its website. You can also sign up for “customized" offerings that pair your IV hydration with sexual and reproductive health care like STI testing and emergency contraception.
The expansion into these new services seems a little disconnected, but Planned Parenthood Mar Monte has made it clear that this expansion is trying to offset budget cuts from the federal government. What does this mean, exactly? We tapped a health policy expert and registered nurse trained in performing cosmetic procedures for more.
Meet the experts: Anne Markus, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health; Angela Vasquez Giroux, vice president of communications for Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Why is Planned Parenthood doing this?
Like other health care providers, Planned Parenthood health centers were reimbursed by Medicaid for care provided to Medicaid-insured patients. But the Trump administration's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" passed in 2025 blocks Planned Parenthood from Medicaid reimbursements, putting affiliates under financial strain and forcing many health centers to close.
“The impact of the Trump administration's relentless attacks on Planned Parenthood health centers—including the unconstitutional ‘defunding’—is clear,” says Angela Vasquez Giroux, vice president of communications for Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Giroux cites the closure of more than 50 health centers in the last year, adding that "These closures put care for millions at risk and add stress to an already-maxed-out health care system."
As a result, Planned Parenthood affiliates are adapting to continue providing care, Giroux says. “From covering care for Medicaid patients to expanding into services like vasectomies to restructuring to ensure they can continue to provide care well into the future, every affiliate is making the challenging and strategic decisions that meet the unique reality they’re facing,” Giroux says.
While botox and IV drips are two of the most headline-grabbing additions to the new services at Planned Parenthood affiliates, The Wall Street Journal reports Mar Monte clinics are also offering new non-aesthetic/wellness services intended to fill other medical gaps. These include laughing gas for IUD insertion and removal, and $250 perimenopause telehealth appointments.
How likely is this to help offset funding cuts?
It’s unclear at this point. “The market for cosmetic dermatology is quite competitive, and client expectations are typically high,” says Anne Markus, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health.
Medicaid funding usually represents about 50% of a Planned Parenthood clinic’s revenues, Markus points out—that’s a lot to try to offset with botox. According to The Wall Street Journal, this number is even higher at Mar Monte clinics: 75% of patients use Medicaid.
“It is conceivable that some established patients would want botox,” Markus says. But she points out that the majority of people who visit these clinics are low-income, and that botox typically isn’t cheap. While Planned Parenthood Mar Monte plans to price its botox competitively (at $9 a unit, compared to $12–15 per unit nearby in the area), the cost for a typical session of 30-40 units would still be $270–$360. Markus estimates that 75% of Planned Parenthood clientele have incomes at 150% of the federal poverty line ($23,940 for a single person in 2026).
This means there may be a gap between the typical Planned Parenthood patient and the type of patient who can pay for aesthetic treatments like botox.
Instead, Markus suggests that these clinics will likely need to attract a different type of client, with more disposable income. “Given how competitive the cosmetic dermatology market is, it may not be sustainable for a Planned Parenthood clinic, unless it can attract a continuous flow of new patients and clients who want botox specifically provided at a Planned Parenthood clinic.” However, it does seem like there are women who would be open to skipping the med spa and instead choosing Planned Parenthood for their botox, in support of its overarching mission.
The takeaway
Planned Parenthood often comes under fire for its abortion healthcare services. But the non-profit offers much more than just that. According to annual reports, in 2024, they served 2.08 million patients, providing birth control information and services, STI testing and treatment, and cancer screening and prevention services.
While it might seem a bit random that the reproductive health center is now turning to aesthetic treatments to offset defunding, two things can be true at once. The med spa market is booming, and the millions of Americans who rely on Planned Parenthood shouldn't have to lose access to their healthcare.
Whether these Planned Parenthood botox clinics wind up being a success may depend on a variety of factors, Markus says. "How much of a disruption would it create, and is there a clear return on investment? That's something each clinic will need to figure out."
Carina Hsieh, MPH, is the deputy features editor of Women’s Health. She has more than a decade’s worth of experience working in media and has covered everything from beauty, fashion, travel, lifestyle, pets, to health.
She began her career as an intern in the fashion closet at Cosmopolitan where she worked her way up to Senior Sex & Relationships Editor. While covering women’s health there, she discovered her passion for health service journalism and took a break to get her Masters in Public Health. Post-grad school, she worked as a freelance writer and as The Daily Beast’s first Beauty, Health, and Wellness Reporter.
Carina is an alum of the Fashion Institute of Technology and the Yale School of Public Health. She and her French Bulldog, Bao Bao, split their time between Brooklyn and Connecticut. She enjoys reformer Pilates, (slow) running, and smelling the fancy toiletries in boutique fitness class locker rooms.
