For Immediate Release: September 21, 2021
Contact: Audrey Sandusky, (202) 344-5805, asandusky@nfprha.org 

HHS Reports Devastating Decline in People Accessing Title X-Funded Care 

Washington, DC – The number of people receiving family planning and sexual health services from a Title X-funded health care setting declined to 1.5 million in 2020 and has experienced a 61% drop since 2018, according to the HHS Office of Population Affairs’ Family Planning Annual Report (FPAR) released on September 20. The following is a statement from Clare Coleman, President & CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA).

“A federal report released yesterday paints a grim picture of the dual impact the 2019 program rule and the COVID-19 pandemic have had on Title X, the nation’s only program dedicated to family planning and sexual health care. The Title X rule, which went in effect in July 2019, has caused terrible damage to the program. The rule’s onerous restrictions, coupled with a prolonged pandemic, have left family planning providers struggling for survival and resorting to operational cutbacks, reductions in health center hours, and staff layoffs. The data quantify in stark terms the harmful impact that restrictive policies have on historically under-resourced communities.”

“For more than 50 years, Title X has played a vital role in providing essential preventive services to those who have no other health care options, but the program is simply not able to reach as many people as it needs to. The good news is that it is possible to repair the damage done. We are hopeful that a significant investment in Title X, a new final Title X rule that lifts restrictions from the previous administration, and a competitive grantmaking process can repair a frayed safety net, restabilize networks of care, and give people in need the health care they deserve.”

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NFPRHA is a membership organization representing publicly funded family planning providers and administrators nationwide. NFPRHA advances and elevates the importance of family planning in the nation’s health care system and promotes and supports the work of family planning providers and administrators, especially those in the safety net. For more information, visit nationalfamilyplanning.org.