FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 14, 2021
Contact: Audrey Sandusky, (202) 344-5805, asandusky@nfprha.org
HHS Releases Proposed Updates to Title X Regulations
Washington, DC – Today, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for the Title X family planning program that would largely reinstate regulations that governed the program from 2000-2019. The following is a statement from Clare Coleman, President & CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA).
“NFPRHA is relieved that draft Title X rulemaking was released today by HHS. We continue to urge HHS to make it right by providing specific relief from the Trump administration’s 2019 regulation. Across the country, at least 1,300 health centers have withdrawn from the program since July 2019, leaving more than 1.5 million people without access to Title X-funded care. Six states have no Title X-funded care at all. People in need of contraception and sexual health care can’t wait.
“Throughout the draft rule, the administration demonstrates its strong commitment to improving health equity, a critical move that NFPRHA and its members fully support. The draft rule would return the family planning safety net back to the regulations that governed the program starting in 2000. Our field has proven it is competent at delivering family planning services under very similar regulations, and we are confident providers can readily implement and be accountable to the proposed updates.
“However, NFPRHA continues to implore HHS to suspend the 2019 Title X rule through separate rulemaking. Unlike the Clinton administration actions suspending the “domestic gag rule” while proposing new rules, this proposed rulemaking leaves more than 2,600 health centers subject to program rules that the Biden administration and the provider network find untenable. Our field deserves relief now.
“The administration has taken a prime opportunity in the proposed rule to strengthen the Title X program by seeking public comment on providing telehealth services and the damage that ideological restrictions on qualified providers poses to the Title X network. NFPRHA supports regulatory updates that modernize the program while remaining true to Title X’s 50-year commitment to quality and equity.
“Title X providers are seeking rules that center people in need, providing them with health care and education that is equitable, affordable, and accessible in their community. As HHS reviews comments on this NPRM, we will continue to uplift and center those values, and appreciate HHS’ commitment to do the same.”