Press Releases and Statements
March 21, 2024
Funding Bill Provides No Relief for Family Planning Program
Today, Congress released its second fiscal year (FY) 2024 minibus, which flat funds the Title X family planning program at $286.5 million. Read more.
March 13, 2024
Fifth Circuit Ruling Continues to Undermine Minors’ Access to Health Care in Texas
Yesterday, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a ruling in Deanda v. Becerra, a challenge against the Title X family planning program’s well-established statutory protection of minors’ ability to seek contraceptive care without parental consent. Yesterday’s ruling affirms in part a district court ruling that the Title X statute’s confidentiality protections do not preempt Texas’s parental consent law. However, in a win for the Title X program, the appellate court reversed part of the district court’s ruling which had vacated language in the 2021 Title X rule formalizing Title X’s longstanding prohibition on parental consent and notification. The court also declined to rule as to whether the 2021 rule preempts Texas’s law. Minors in Texas have been unable to access contraception without parental consent for more than a year since the district court ruling. Read more.
March 12, 2024
Biden Administration Budget Request Lacks Adequate Funding for the Crucial Needs of Title X
Yesterday, the White House released part of its fiscal year 2025 budget proposal, recommending $390 million for the Title X program. This request stands in marked contrast to the president’s request for $512 million for the program for fiscal year 2024. Read more.
March 4, 2024
First Daily Over-the Counter Birth Control Pill “Access Without Affordability”
Today, Perrigo, the manufacturer of the first FDA-approved daily over-the-counter birth control option (Opill) announced that it has begun shipping the medication to pharmacies across the US with a recommended retail price of $19.99 for a one-month supply and $49.99 for a three-month supply. Read more.
January 9, 2024
Comment on Biden Administration Partial Repeal of Unlawful Trump Rule Allowing Refusals of Health Care
“NFPRHA commends this move by President Biden to protect access to health care for millions of people,” said Clare Coleman, President & CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association. “The Trump administration’s health care refusal rule undermined the integrity of key HHS programs, including the Title X family planning program, by prioritizing religious and moral refusals over the rights of patients to access care." Read more.
November 30, 2023
NFPRHA Recognizes Sixth Circuit Court Ruling as a Victory for Title X Program
“In a win for the Title X family planning program, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit today protected a critical provision of the 2021 Title X program rule, upholding a lower court decision to protect abortion referral within Title X, a longstanding requirement in the program. The court also held that the 2021 rule’s program integrity requirements are not a permissible interpretation of the Title X statute but ruled that only Ohio was entitled to an injunction on this point." Read more.
October 3, 2023
Federal Report Shows Nearly 1 Million More People Received Title X Care in 2022
“Today’s report shows a glimmer of good news for the nation’s family planning program, as its provider network is working overtime with inadequate resources to restore access to care following the disastrous effects of both the 2019 program rule and the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Clare Coleman, President & CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA). “We are thrilled to see this growth, but we are still a long way from repairing the damage done to this essential public health program. Title X needs more funding to meet the growing demand for care in communities.” Read more.
July 27, 2023
Senate Proposes Flat Funding for Title X Program
"NFPRHA is deeply disappointed the Senate squandered its opportunity to responsibly invest in the nation’s family planning program today by proposing flat funding for Title X in the fiscal year 2024 Labor-HHS appropriations bill released today." Read more.
July 13, 2023
House Subcommittee Funding Proposal Eliminates Family Planning Program
“Today, the House Appropriations Labor-HHS Subcommittee proposed a shortsighted and dangerous appropriations bill that defunds the nation’s Title X family planning program. The proposed elimination of Title X funding will eviscerate access to lifesaving preventive health care, including cancer screening, STI testing and treatment, and contraception for the people who have no or low incomes and communities that have been historically and systemically marginalized." Read more.
June 23, 2023
NFPRHA Reflects on One Year After the Supreme Court Decision in Dobbs
“Over the past year, we have watched in horror how the disastrous Supreme Court decision to upend 50 years of the constitutionally protected right to abortion has wreaked havoc on communities across the country." Read more.
June 23, 2023
NFPRHA Voices Concern about Executive Order on Contraception
“NFPRHA is glad to see the Biden administration take action on contraceptive access. The threat to the legality and legitimacy of contraception is real, and it is growing. We are dismayed that this order does not require tangible steps to protect access and does not include any firm deadlines." Read more.
June 21, 2023
Right to Contraception Blocked in Senate
Today, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) requested unanimous consent for the Senate to pass the Right to Contraception Act, landmark legislation that would codify the right of individuals to receive contraceptive care and of health care professionals to provide it. Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) objected to the request, and the bill did not move forward. Read more.
June 7, 2023
NFPRHA Recognizes 58th Anniversary of Griswold v. Connecticut
Today marks the 58th anniversary of the US Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Griswold v. Connecticut that first recognized the constitutional right to contraception and to privacy, which has served as the foundation for other landmark Supreme Court decisions. Read more.
May 2, 2023
NFPRHA Files Amicus Brief Calling on Circuit Court to Reverse Ruling in Deanda v. Becerra
Today, the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) submitted an amicus brief on behalf of its members to the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in the case of Deanda v. Becerra, a challenge against the Title X family planning program’s well-established statutory protection of minors’ ability to seek contraceptive care without parental consent. Read more.
April 21, 2023
Supreme Court Ruling Preserves Status Quo Access to Mifepristone
Tonight, the Supreme Court stayed a lower court ruling in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, pending the outcome of the appeals process in the lower courts. The case challenges the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortion. Read more.
April 7, 2023
Texas District Court Ruling on Mifepristone a Dangerous Setback
Today, District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk issued a dangerous decision that could potentially eliminate access to mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortion. Read more.
March 9, 2023
White House Prioritizes Title X Family Planning in Budget Proposal
Today, the White House released its fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget proposal, which includes $512 million for the Title X family planning program. If enacted into law, this would be a 79% increase relative to current funding. Read more.
February 16, 2023
U.S. Department of Justice Appeals Federal Court Decision to Mandate Parental Consent for Youth to Obtain Birth Control
Today, the U.S. Department of Justice appealed the ruling in Deanda v. Becerra, which held that it violates Texas state law and the U.S. Constitution for minors to get their birth control through the Title X program without parental consent. Read more.
December 29, 2022
NFPRHA Welcomes Biden Administration Proposed Repeal of Unlawful Health Care Refusal Rule
Today, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that, if finalized, would rescind the most harmful provisions of the Trump administration’s health care refusal rule that threatened to significantly expand the ability of health care providers and entities to withhold treatment, counseling, or medical information based on religious or moral beliefs—without any regard for patients’ health needs. Read more.
December 20, 2022
District Court Action Charts Dangerous Course for Contraceptive Access
Late yesterday, a Texas federal district court issued a final judgement in a case filed in April 2020 seeking to prevent the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from funding Title X projects that provide contraception or other family planning services to adolescents without parental consent. Read more.
December 20, 2022
Omnibus Funding Bill Woefully Shortchanges Family Planning Program
Congress introduced its fiscal year (FY) 2023 omnibus spending bill today that flat funds the Title X family planning program at $286.5 million. Read more.
October 27, 2022
NFPRHA Urges Circuit Court to Uphold 2021 Title X Rule
Today, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit will hear oral argument in plaintiffs’ appeal of the district court’s denial of a preliminary injunction in Ohio v. Becerra, the case brought by the Ohio Attorney General on behalf of Ohio and 11 other states to challenge the 2021 Title X rule and reinstate Trump-era restrictions on the Title X family planning program. Read more.
September 19, 2022
HHS Report Signals Beginning of Recovery in Title X Access, Need for More Investment
New data released today in the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Population Affairs’ Family Planning Annual Report (FPAR) signals that the Title X family planning program is beginning to recover from the Trump-era program rule that led nearly 1,000 providers (or 25%) to withdraw from the program and resulted in a historically low 1.54 million patients served in 2020. In 2021, 1.66 million people received family planning and sexual health services from a Title X-funded health care setting, an increase of nearly 126,000 from the previous year. Read more.
July 28, 2022
NFPRHA Praises Senate for Historic Title X Investment
Today, the Senate released its fiscal year (FY) 2023 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) appropriations bill, which includes $512 million for the Title X, which would be an 80% increase for the program. The following is a statement from Clare Coleman, President & CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA). Read more.
July 25, 2022
Biden Administration Enhances Critical Patient Protections under Health Care Provider Nondiscrimination Rule
Today, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a proposed rule implementing section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which reinstates and expands patient protections against discrimination in all HHS-supported programs and activities. The following is a statement from Audrey Sandusky, Senior Director, Policy & Communications, at the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA). Read more.
July 21, 2022
Title X Funding Bill Blocked in the Senate
Today, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) blocked a unanimous consent request to pass the Expanding Access to Family Planning Act. The following is a statement from Audrey Sandusky, Senior Director, Policy & Communications, at the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA). Read more.
July 21, 2022
NFPRHA Applauds House Passage of Right to Contraception Bill
Today, the US House of Representatives passed the Right to Contraception Act of 2022 in a 228-195-2 vote. The following is a statement from Audrey Sandusky, Senior Director, Policy & Communications, at the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA). Read more.
June 24, 2022
Supreme Court Dismantles Access to Abortion Care
The following is a statement from Clare Coleman, President & CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), in response to today’s ruling by the US Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which will allow abortion to be banned across the country. Read more.
June 22, 2022
House Labor-HHS Funding Bill Proposes $500 Million for Title X
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies proposed $500 million for the Title X family planning program in its fiscal year (FY) 2023 appropriations bill, a $213.5 million increase from the FY 2022 funding level. Read more.
June 7, 2022
NFPRHA Recognizes the 57th Anniversary of Griswold v. Connecticut
Today marks the 57th anniversary of the US Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Griswold v. Connecticut that first established the right to privacy in family planning decisions, paving the way for access to family planning and sexual health care – including the creation of the Title X family planning program in 1970. Read more.
May 3, 2022
NFPRHA Statement on Leaked Draft Majority Opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
The following is a statement by Clare Coleman, President & CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), in response to the leaked draft majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Read more.
March 9, 2022
Eighth Consecutive Flat Funding Proposal for Title X
Congress introduced its fiscal year (FY) 2022 omnibus spending bill today that flat funds the Title X family planning program at $286.5 million. The following is a statement from Clare Coleman, President & CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association. Read more.
February 18, 2022
Senate Must Pass Women’s Health Protection Act
NFPRHA is calling on the Senate to protect access to abortion by passing the Women’s Health Protection Act, landmark legislation that guarantees all people the right to access abortion care in this country – no matter where they live. Read more.
February 8, 2022
Sixth Circuit Upholds Biden Administration’s Title X Rule
In a victory for the nation’s family planning program, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit declined to enjoin the Title X rule finalized by the US Department of Health and Human Services under the Biden administration in October 2021. Read more.
December 1, 2021
NFPRHA Statement on Oral Argument in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization
NFPRHA stands with its national partners and litigants challenging restrictions in Mississippi that impose barriers to abortion across the state, threatening access to this essential care for people nationwide. Read more.
November 30, 2021
NFPRHA Urges District Court to Uphold Title X Rule
Last night, the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) filed an amicus, or “friend of the court,” brief with the US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. NFPRHA’s brief details the devastating impact the prior regulations had on the family planning provider network and patients’ access to Title X-funded family planning care and urges the court to uphold the 2021 Title X rule. Read more.
October 18, 2021
Senate Proposes a Game-Changing Funding Increase for Title X
The Senate released its fiscal year (FY) 2022 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) appropriations bill, which includes $500 million for the Title X, marking a 75% increase for the program. Read more.
October 4, 2021
NFPRHA Applauds Final Title X Family Planning Rule
The US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) released its final rule for the Title X program, which officially lifts the harmful restrictions put in place by the Trump administration and reinstates program rules that governed the program prior to July 2019. Read more.
September 24, 2021
NFPRHA Celebrates House Passage of Women’s Health Protection Act
The US House of Representatives today passed the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), a bill that safeguards the federal right to access abortion care throughout the United States. Read more.
September 21, 2021
HHS Reports Devastating Decline in People Accessing Title X-Funded Care
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. Read more.
July 29, 2021
House Passes Historic Investment in Title X
Today, the US House of Representatives passed its fiscal year (FY) 2022 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) appropriations bill, which includes $400 million for the Title X program. This is a $113.5 million increase from the program’s current funding level of $286.5 million, which has been unchanged for seven fiscal years. If enacted, today’s proposal would be the biggest funding increase in the program’s history. Read more.
July 11, 2021
House Bill Includes a Game Changing Funding Boost for Title X
Today the US House of Representatives released its fiscal year (FY) 2022 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) appropriations bill, which includes $400 million for the Title X program. Read more.
June 17, 2021
NFPRHA Relieved by Supreme Court Decision on Affordable Care Act
The following is a statement from Clare Coleman, President & CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), in response to today’s 7-2 ruling by the US Supreme Court in California v. Texas that the states and individuals which brought the lawsuit do not have standing to bring this challenge. Today’s decision leaves the Affordable Care Act (ACA) intact. Read more.
June 4, 2021
NFPRHA Commemorates 56th Anniversary of Supreme Court Case on Legal Access to Contraception
Next week marks the 56th anniversary of the US Supreme Court's landmark decision in Griswold v. Connecticut that legalized the use of contraception for married people and first recognized an individual’s right to privacy in family planning matters. Griswold v. Connecticut paved the way for all people to have access to the family planning care they need and led to the creation of the Title X family planning program in 1970. Read more.
May 28, 2021
NFPRHA Commends Biden Administration on Bold Move to Make Abortion Access a Reality for All
NFPRHA commends President Biden for supporting repeal of the Hyde amendment in his budget proposal released today. In 2020, then-candidate Joe Biden vowed to oppose the Hyde amendment, and today’s budget keeps that promise. This administration has made racial equity one of its core goals, and ending the racist and discriminatory Hyde amendment fits squarely within that effort. Read more.
May 17, 2021
NFPRHA Supports Proposed Changes to Strengthen Title X, Urges Swift Action to Finalize New Rule
Today, the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) submitted public comments in response to the US Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) proposed rule to repair and rebuild the Title X family planning program. Read more.
May 17, 2021
Joint statement on U.S. Supreme Court’s dismissal of Title X ‘gag rule’ cases
"Today’s dismissal of the Supreme Court Title X cases marks another important step forward for patients across the country who have been denied access to essential care during a pandemic. We are pleased that all parties, including the federal government, agreed that the litigation over the Trump administration’s ‘gag rule’ is no longer necessary." Read more.
May 10, 2021
Biden Administration Reinforces Commitment to High-Quality Family Planning with DASPA Pick
Today, May 10, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that Jessica Marcella has been appointed as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs, the administration official who oversees the Title X family planning and Teen Pregnancy Prevention programs. Read more.
April 14, 2021
HHS Releases Proposed Updates to Title X Regulations
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. Read more.
April 9, 2021
Biden Administration’s Budget Proposal Falls Short for Nation’s Family Planning Program
Today the White House released part of its fiscal year 2022 budget proposal, recommending $340 million for the Title X program. Read more.
March 25, 2021
EACH Act Key to Reducing Health Disparities in the US
"NFPRHA welcomes the introduction of the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Act, critical legislation that would require federal insurance programs and other federal health care programs to cover abortion care." Read more.
March 24, 2021
NFPRHA Welcomes Dr. Levine as US HHS Assistant Secretary of Health
Today, the US Senate confirmed Dr. Rachel Levine as the next Assistant Secretary of Health (ASH) at the US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS). Read more.
March 22, 2021
To Honor Eisenstadt Legacy, NFPRHA Urges Real Action on Title X Relief
On March 22, 1972, the Supreme Court ruled in Eisenstadt v. Baird that unmarried people had the right to legally access contraceptive care, just as their married counterparts could thanks to a 1965 Supreme Court case in Griswold v. Connecticut. Read more.
March 18, 2021
NFPRHA Welcomes New US Health & Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra
“NFPRHA welcomes the confirmation of Xavier Becerra as the next secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services. Secretary Becerra has a proven track record of championing increased access to family planning and sexual health care and strengthening Medicaid.” Read more.
March 18, 2021
NFPRHA Applauds HHS Announcement of Forthcoming Title X Rulemaking
Today, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that the department will be issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to undo the 2019 Title X rule no later than April 15, 2021. Following an open comment period, HHS plans to issue a final rule “by early fall and effective in time for the Fiscal Year 2022 funding announcement, which is expected to be issued in December 2021.” Read more.
March 11, 2021
NFPRHA Commends New Federal Investment of $50 Million for Title X
The National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association applauds the inclusion of $50 million in critical supplemental funding for the Title X program in “The American Rescue Plan,” which President Joe Biden signed into law today. Read more.
February 27, 2021
House Approves Critical Funding for Title X Program
"NFPRHA is extremely pleased that the US House of Representatives has passed $50 million in supplemental funding for the Title X family planning program in its reconciliation package. The legislation provides a critical funding boost for family planning providers that have been without federal family planning funds as they are tested by the overwhelming threat of COVID-19. We urge the Senate to maintain these funds as it considers the bill.” Read more.
February 22, 2021
Joint statement on U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to review the Title X rule
“We welcome the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to review the Ninth Circuit’s erroneous opinion upholding a Trump administration rule that imposed drastic changes on the Title X federal family planning program.” Read more.
February 10, 2021
House Committee Proposes $50 Million in Supplemental Funding for Title X
Yesterday, February 9, the House Energy & Commerce Committee released a draft reconciliation bill that includes $50 million in supplemental funding for the Title X family planning program. The National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) commends the committee for taking this important step and looks forward to working with House and Senate leaders to see this proposal through the legislative process. Read more.
January 28, 2021
Executive Action on Title X an Essential First Step toward Bringing Needed Relief to Millions
“NFPRHA applauds the Biden administration for taking executive action today to begin the process to rescind the harmful Title X program rule. This directive makes clear that the Biden administration is committed to stopping the damage done by the rule and making it right for millions of people who rely on Title X for care. Read more.
October 1, 2020
NFPRHA petitions US Supreme Court to strike down administration’s Title X restrictions
The National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) today petitioned the US Supreme Court to strike down a 2019 Trump administration rule that imposed drastic changes on the Title X family planning program. NFPRHA’s petition was joined by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Reproductive Freedom Project, the American Medical Association (AMA), Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), Essential Access Health, the Oregon Medical Association, and others. Read more.
September 26, 2020
NFPRHA Opposes Moving Forward with Supreme Court Nominee
It is shameful that amid so much suffering, the Senate would rather rush through a Supreme Court nomination than address the ongoing and wide-reaching effects that COVID is having in our country. The failure to work together to protect Americans contributes to the enormous damage and despair people are experiencing. Read more.
September 21, 2020
NFPRHA Mourns the Death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Our country has lost a titan of the law with the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. An icon of principle, drive, and clarity, she fought tirelessly for gender equality and women’s reproductive rights. Read more.
September 17, 2020
NFPRHA’s Response to Forced Hysterectomies among ICE Detainees
This week, reports of an unusually high number of hysterectomies performed on immigrant women detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia draws attention to a long and continuous history of forced sterilizations and other attempts to limit people’s reproductive choices, particularly those of women of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, and people in detention. Read more.
September 3, 2020
Federal Court of Appeals Protects Maryland from Title X Rule
Today, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a district court decision to block the Title X rule from being enforced in Maryland. Read more.
July 31, 2020
House Funding Bill Seeks to Protect Title X from Unlawful Program Rule
Today, the US House of Representatives approved a fiscal year (FY) 2021 funding measure, which provides level funding for the Title X family planning program and includes language protecting the program from the administration’s Title X rule. Read more.
July 9, 2020
New Poll: A Majority of US Adults Believe Elected Officials Should Support Policies and Funding for Sexual Health during Coronavirus Pandemic
Two-thirds of adults believe it is important for elected officials to support funding and policies that ensure individuals get affordable sexual health care and information during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new poll released today by the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA). Read more.
July 8, 2020
Supreme Court Ruling Means Countless Employers Could Deny People Birth Control Coverage
Today’s Supreme Court decision is a huge setback for family planning providers and the patients they serve. By allowing virtually any employer to refuse to provide insurance coverage for contraceptive methods by citing religious or moral objections, hundreds of thousands of people could be left without coverage for birth control without co-pays—threatening their access to this essential health service. Read more.
July 7, 2020
HHS Funding Measure Falls Short of Expectations
Last night, the US House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) released its draft fiscal year (FY) 2021 bill, which includes language to block the unlawful Title X rule but flat funds the program. The following is a statement from Clare Coleman, President & CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA). Read more.
June 3, 2020
NFPRHA Statement on the Impact of Racism on People's Lives and Health
The National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) supports efforts to eliminate all disparities in the health care system, including those based on race and ethnicity. Structural racism is deeply embedded in US culture. Unconscious or perceived racial biases and discrimination directly and indirectly contribute to the challenges of eliminating health disparities and achieving health equity. Read more.
May 13, 2020
New Poll: A Majority of US Women Support Access to Birth Control During COVID-19 Pandemic, NFPRHA Poll Finds
As the coronavirus affects communities across the US, a majority of US women believe it’s ‘more essential’ to have access to birth control measures to delay or prevent pregnancy during the pandemic, according to a new poll released today by the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA). Read more.
May 8, 2020
Ninth Circuit Denies Full-Court Review of Appeal in Challenge to Title X Program Rule
Today the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request by the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), the Attorney General of Washington State, Bob Ferguson, and plaintiffs-appellees in the other Ninth Circuit Title X cases for a full-court rehearing in their challenge to the Trump administration’s Title X family planning rule. An 11-member panel of that court in February rejected the final merits of the plaintiffs' arbitrary-rulemaking claims in the context of a preliminary injunction appeal, without the administrative record and full arguments from it. Read more.
April 8, 2020
NFPRHA Requests a Full Court Review of Appeal in Challenge to Unlawful Title X Program Rule
Today the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) and the Attorney General of Washington State, Bob Ferguson, requested a full court rehearing by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in their challenge to the Trump administration’s Title X family planning rule. An 11-member panel of that court in February rejected the final merits of the plaintiffs' arbitrary-rulemaking claims in the context of a preliminary injunction appeal, without the administrative record and full arguments from it. Plaintiffs-appellees in the other Ninth Circuit Title X cases have also joined in the full court rehearing request. Read more.
March 26, 2020
Senate Covid-19 Stimulus Package Fails to Prioritize Vital Public Health Programs
Last night, the Senate passed the third in a series of legislative packages to provide economic relief and bolster the nation’s health and social services infrastructure in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. The House of Representatives is expected to pass the legislation by voice vote on Friday morning. Read more.
February 24, 2020
Ninth Circuit Court Ruling Allows the Devastation to the Nation’s Family Planning Program to Continue
Today, an en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against plaintiffs, including the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, in their challenges to block the Trump administration’s Title X family planning rule. Despite not having the full administrative record, the Court of Appeals ruled on the final merits of the case, with the majority of the appeals panel ruling that the regulation is lawful. Read more.
February 14, 2020
NFPRHA Applauds Win in Maryland Title X Court Case
Today, Judge Richard Bennett of the US District Court for the District of Maryland ruled in favor of two claims in the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore’s legal challenge to the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Title X family planning rule. Read more.
January 30, 2020
CMS Guidance Targets Vulnerable, Weakens America’s Health Care System
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a Dear State Medicaid Director letter that encourages states to agree to caps on their federal Medicaid funding in exchange for not being required to comply with key Medicaid requirements and patient protections. This radical restructuring of how Medicaid is financed and managed has the potential to greatly harm the health of poor and low-income individuals, preventing them from accessing preventive health care, including family planning and sexual health services. Read more.
January 22, 2020
Texas Medicaid Waiver an Unprecedented Attack on the Public’s Health
States likely to follow new precedent; do lasting harm to the poor. Read more.
December 18, 2019
Funding Plan Fails Nation’s Family Planning Program
Today, the US House of Representatives approved a conference agreement for fiscal year (FY) 2020 funding that omits critical language blocking the administration’s Title X program rule and flat funds the Title X family planning program. Read more.
November 6, 2019
NFPRHA Applauds District Court Ruling Striking Down Health Care Refusal Rule
Today, Judge [Paul A.] Engelmayer in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York vacated the Trump administration’s health care refusal rule in its entirety, which was scheduled to take effect on November 22, 2019. The ruling followed oral arguments by the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), with Public Health Solutions, a NFPRHA member in New York, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the New York Attorney General and other states. Read more.
October 18, 2019
District Court Hears Oral Argument in NFPRHA’s Health Care Refusal Rule Case
Today, Judge [Paul A.] Engelmayer in the Southern District of New York heard oral argument in the lawsuit brought by the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), with Public Health Solutions, a NFPRHA member in New York, against the Trump administration’s health care refusal rule. The regulation, finalized in May, would significantly expand the ability of health care providers to withhold treatment, counseling, or medical information based on their religious or moral beliefs—without any regard for the needs of patients. Read more.
September 23, 2019
Ninth Circuit Court Hears Oral Argument in Lawsuit against Administration’s Unlawful Title X Program Rule
Today, an en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral argument in the lawsuit brought by the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), the ACLU, Essential Access Health, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and others against the Trump administration’s Title X family planning rule. Read more.
September 10, 2019
NFPRHA Applauds Senator Murray for Standing up for Title X
Senator Murray was poised to offer an amendment to the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) appropriations bill that would restore the Title X family planning program to the longstanding approach that has led to nearly 50 years of public health success. Read more.
August 14, 2019
Destructive Effects of Title X Program Rule Imminent Without Appeals Court Intervention
Today, Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) notified the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that, absent emergency judicial relief, all Planned Parenthood direct grantees will be forced to withdraw from the Title X program by the close of business on Monday, August 19, 2019, the deadline set by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) by which Title X grantees must provide “written assurance” and an “action plan describing the steps that they will take to come into compliance” with the Trump administration’s Title X rule. Read more.
July 26, 2019
NFPRHA Petitions Full Ninth Circuit for Reconsideration of Order that Allowed Title X Rule to Take Effect
The National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) filed a petition tonight for full Ninth Circuit reconsideration of an en banc panel’s July 11 order that has allowed the Title X rule to go into effect while the en banc panel rehears the stay of the preliminary injunction. Read more.
July 21, 2019
OPA Memo to Title X Grantees Wholly Insufficient
For years, Title X-funded entities have received and relied on detailed guidance from the Office of Population Affairs when regulatory changes are made in the Title X family planning program. Read more.
July 16, 2019
HHS Abruptly Begins Enforcement of Devastating and Unlawful Title X Program Rule
On Monday evening, the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Population Affairs released a notice to Title X grantees that stated the agency will begin enforcing the March 2019 Final Rule immediately, all without providing any detailed guidance around compliance to grantees. Read more.
July 11, 2019
Appeals Court Charts Dangerous Path for Title X Family Planning Program
Today, an 11-member en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order that denies the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health’s (NFPRHA) motion to restore the preliminary injunction blocking the Title X rule from being implemented while the rehearing of the stay of the preliminary injunction occurs before the en banc panel. Read more.
July 3, 2019
9th Circuit Restores Relief Blocking Administration’s Unlawful Title X Family Planning Program Rule
Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals restored the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association’s (NFPRHA) preliminary injunction to block the US Department of Health and Human Services from dismantling Title X. The Ninth Circuit order grants a rehearing en banc of the US Department of Health and Human Services’ request for a stay pending appeal of injunctions granted by three different district courts. Read more.
June 25, 2019
NFPRHA Files Emergency Petition Seeking to Reinstate Injunction Blocking Title X Rule
On behalf of the nationwide network of family planning providers and administrators, the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), filed an emergency petition to the en banc court (eleven judges of the Ninth Circuit) asking the court to reverse last Thursday’s ruling by a three-judge panel that set aside the preliminary injunctions granted by district courts in Washington (NFPRHA’s case), Oregon, and California, which had prevented HHS from implementing the Trump administration’s final Title X rule. Read more.
June 20, 2019
Federal Government is One Step Closer to Implementing Family Planning Rule that Puts Patients and Health Centers in Jeopardy
Today, a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted requests by the Department of Justice to stay the three preliminary injunctions granted by district courts in Washington (NFPRHA’s case), Oregon, and California, which had prevented the US Department of Health and Human Services from implementing the Trump administration’s Title X regulation. Read more.
June 19, 2019
House Approves Historic Increase for Title X
The US House of Representatives today passed a four-bill minibus for fiscal year (FY) 2020, including the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) appropriations bill. The bill includes $400 million for the Title X family planning program, an increase of $113.5 million (40%) from the Title X program’s existing appropriation of $286.5 million. If approved by the Senate and signed by the president, this would be the largest increase in the program’s history. Read more.
June 13, 2019
New Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration over Rule Allowing Refusals in Health Care
The National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), Public Health Solutions (PHS), The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) filed a lawsuit today challenging the Trump administration’s rule that allows health care personnel to deny patients information and treatment based on personal religious or moral beliefs. Read more.
June 7, 2019
NFPRHA Celebrates Major Milestone in Legal Access to Contraception
Today, the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), representing publicly funded family planning providers and administrators across the country, celebrates the 54th anniversary of the 1965 landmark Supreme Court decision in Griswold v. Connecticut, which first recognized an individual’s right to privacy in family planning matters and legalized contraception for married people. Read more.
May 2, 2019
HHS Rule Puts Access to Care in Grave Danger for Millions
Today, the Trump administration released a draft version of its final health care refusal rule that threatens to significantly expand the ability of health care providers and entities to withhold treatment, counseling, or medical information based on religious or moral beliefs—without any regard for patients’ health needs. Read more.
April 29, 2019
House Funding Proposal Would Boost Family Planning Program Funding
Today, the US House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) released its draft fiscal year (FY) 2020 funding bill that includes $400 million for the Title X family planning program. Read more.
April 25, 2019
NFPRHA and Washington State Win a Nationwide Preliminary Injunction against Title X Family Planning Rule
Today, Judge Stanley Bastian in the Eastern District of Washington state granted a preliminary injunction to block the Trump administration’s Title X family planning program rule from taking effect. Read more.
March 22, 2019
NFPRHA Seeks Injunction to Save Title X Family Planning Program from Trump Administration’s Destructive Rule
Today, the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a motion requesting a preliminary injunction, with the Washington State Attorney General filing at the same time, to block the US Department of Health and Human Services from implementing the final Title X family planning rule. Read more.
March 7, 2019
NFPRHA, Cedar River Clinics, and ACLU Challenge Trump Administration’s Harmful Changes to Title X Family Planning Program
The National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), and Cedar River Clinics, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the ACLU of Washington, today filed suit to challenge the Trump administration’s new rule that threatens to upend the Title X family planning program and disrupt critical health care for more than four million people nationwide. Read more.
February 25, 2019
NFPRHA, Cedar River Clinics, and Washington AG Ferguson Announce Plans to File Lawsuits Challenging Family Planning Rule
Today, the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) joined Washington State Attorney General, Bob Ferguson and NFPRHA member Cedar River Clinics to announce NFPRHA's intention to file a lawsuit challenging the administration's recently released draft final rule. Read more.
February 22, 2019
Newly Issued Family Planning Rule Poses a Serious Public Health Challenge
Today, the US Department of Health and Human Services posted an unofficial final rule that will undermine the mission of the Title X family planning program, discourage highly qualified and trusted family planning providers from participating in the program, and hinder millions of people from accessing high-quality family planning care. The updated draft rule now available on the Office of Population Affairs website is not the final rule to be officially published in the Federal Register. Read more.
November 7, 2018
Contraceptive Coverage Could Elude Millions under New Rules Released Today
Today, the Trump administration published two final rules on religious and moral exemptions to the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive coverage requirement. The following is a statement from Clare Coleman, President & CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, a national organization representing publicly funded family planning providers and administrators. Read more.
August 29, 2018
HHS Issues Shortened Title X Grant Awards
We are troubled that the administration has taken yet another action to compromise the Title X family planning program, rather than administer the grants efficiently and clearly. Read more.
July 27, 2018
NFPRHA Files Motion to Court of Appeals for Injunction against Administration’s Attempts to Damage Access to Family Planning and Sexual Health Care
Today we took the next step in our legal challenge against the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine the federal family planning program, which provides contraceptive and preventive health care to four million low-income women and men every year. Read more.
July 18, 2018
Court’s Ruling Harmful to Nation’s Public Health
Last night, a federal district court judge ruled against the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) and three Planned Parenthood affiliates in their lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine the federal family planning program, which provides contraception and related preventive health care to four million low-income people every year. Read more.
June 14, 2018
House Eliminates Title X Family Planning Program
NFPRHA is deeply disappointed that the draft bill yet again zeros out funding for Title X, a bedrock public health program that provides high-quality, patient-centered family planning and sexual health care services. Read more.
June 7, 2018
Poll: US Adults Overwhelmingly Support Access to Publicly Funded Contraceptive Care, Contrary to Recent Trump Administration Actions
A national public opinion poll released today by the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) shows a vast majority of adults are in favor of the way the nation’s publicly funded family planning provider network was designed to serve low-income patients – with comprehensive, high-quality family planning and sexual health care services and information. Read more.
May 15, 2018
NFPRHA Applauds 20 Attorneys General for Protecting Title X Family Planning Program
"Today, 20 Attorneys General have jointly filed an amicus brief with the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in support of NFPRHA’s request to stop the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from making dangerous changes to Title X family planning program, the nation’s only dedicated federal funding source for family planning and sexual health care." Read more.
May 9, 2018
NFPRHA Seeks Injunction to Prevent Trump Administration from Making Dangerous Changes to Title X Family Planning Program
"Unfortunately, the 2018 Title X funding opportunity radically shifts the program’s focus away from access to contraceptive care which are the services that most patients seek in Title X-funded health settings and the care they say they need most.” Read more.
May 2, 2018
NFPRHA & ACLU Challenge Trump Administration’s Changes to Title X Family Planning Program
The National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, today filed suit to challenge the Trump administration’s plans to undercut the Title X family planning program, which provides care to four million low-income people each year. Read more.
March 27, 2018
Religious Refusal Rule Creates Unjust Barriers to Care
“In federal comments submitted to HHS today, NFPRHA expressed deep concern that the agency’s proposed religious refusal rule ignores the needs of patients. The administration is attempting to create unjustified and unnecessary pathways to refuse essential health care to a patient." Read more.
February 26, 2018
HHS Action Seeks to Dilute a Cornerstone of the Title X Family Planning Program
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Population Affairs (OPA) issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the Title X family planning program. NFPRHA reacts in a press statement. Read more.
February 12, 2018
White House Budget Fails to Invest in Preventive Health Care
“When critical preventive health services are left underfunded, we risk deepening a crisis in public health that has suffered from years of neglect." Read more.
January 19, 2018
HHS Actions Will Inflict Harm on Health Care Safety Net and Its Patients
“On behalf of the network of publicly funded family planning providers and administrators, we strongly condemn the steps taken today by the Trump administration." Read more.
January 11, 2018
CMS Policy Changes Hurt Vulnerable Populations
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a State Medicaid Director letter that represents a major shift away from long-standing Medicaid policy. The guidance is contrary to the objectives of the Medicaid program and has the potential to greatly harm the health of poor and low-income individuals, preventing them from accessing essential health care, including family planning and sexual health services. Read more.
October 6, 2017
HHS Acts to Unravel ACA Contraceptive Coverage Protections
The US Department of Health and Human Services has just release a final rule that could cause crippling effects to the family planning safety net and reverse the progress made to achieve health equity for women. Read more.
September 20, 2017
Graham-Cassidy Bill Puts Health Care Safety Net in Imminent Danger
The newest attempt to appeal the Affordable Care Act comes in the form of the Graham-Cassidy proposal. If enacted, this proposal would eliminate the individual mandate, end health insurance subsidies, and end medicaid expansion. Read more.
September 7, 2017
Senate Calls to Flat Fund Nation’s Family Planning Program
The Senate released a funding bill today that will level funding to the Title X family planning program, a decision that will affect millions of low-income people. NFPRHA President & CEO, Clare Coleman makes a statement regarding this bill. Read more.
August 3, 2017
NFPRHA Urges Trump Administration to Deny Texas Medicaid Waiver
NFPRHA submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Texas’ proposed § 1115 Medicaid family planning waiver urging CMS to reject Texas’ waiver. Read more.
July 19, 2017
House Proposal Would Shutter Access for Low-Income Patients
Today, the House Labor-HHS Committee passed a fiscal year 2018 funding proposal that would eliminate funding for Title X, the nation’s family planning program. Read more.
July 12, 2017
House Eliminates Cornerstone Public Health Program
This bill being advanced will force an untold number of health centers across the country to shut their doors. Without the safety net, millions will have no source of health care. Read more.
June 7, 2017
NFPRHA Pays Tribute to 52nd Anniversary of Griswold v. Connecticut
Fifty-two years after Griswold, political ideology continues to erode contraceptive access on both the federal and state levels. As a result, millions of individuals – many of whom depend on publicly funded family planning as their sole source of health care – could be at risk of losing access to this preventive health care. Read more.
May 23, 2017
White House Budget Devastating to the Poor & Low-Income
NFPRHA is deeply troubled by President Trump’s fiscal year 2018 budget request released today, which calls for cutting Medicaid more than $627 billion over 10 years. If enacted, President Trump’s approach would be devastating to poor and low-income people who need Medicaid coverage to access the health care they need. Read more.
May 4, 2017
Executive Order is Direct Attack on Access to Contraception
NFPRHA is profoundly disappointed by the Trump Administration to establish sweeping exemptions for people and organizations who claim religious objections to the provision of and coverage for critical health care services, including contraceptive care. Today’s executive action will set forth a dangerous precedent for individuals’ access to preventive care, including high-quality family planning and sexual health services. Read more.
May 4, 2017
Congressional Spending Bill Dismisses Growing Demand for Family Planning Services
Today, Congress passed a fiscal year (FY) 2017 omnibus spending package that preserves funding at nearly current levels for the Title X family planning program, a bedrock public health program designed to meet the family planning and other preventive health care needs of low-income women and men across the country. While we are relieved the bill does not fulfill House Republicans’ earlier proposals to eliminate Title X, stakeholders must acknowledge that the program has not received any new service delivery funding for seven straight years, despite a record growth in demand for publicly family planning funded care. Read more.
May 4, 2017
NFPRHA Warns House Bill Would Cripple Family Planning Safety Net
This bill is ‘reform’ for reform’s sake. It would be disastrous for safety-net providers and the millions of people who rely on them for essential health care every year. Read more.
May 1, 2017
White House Pick to Oversee Title X Program Raises Serious Concerns
On behalf of the network of publicly funded family planning providers and administrators dedicated to ensuring high-quality family planning education and care for all, the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) urges caution over the appointment of Teresa Manning as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population Affairs (DASPA), the lead political appointee position that oversees the Title X family planning program. Read more.
March 30, 2017
With Vice President Tiebreaker, Senate Nullifies Title X Protections and Frays America’s Safety Net
A vote to disapprove the Title X rule is a vote to further compromise the publicly funded family planning network and deny millions of people access to affordable and high-quality contraceptive services and counseling, cancer screenings and testing and STD services. We strongly urge President Trump to veto this resolution. Read more.
March 7, 2017
House Reconciliation Bill Would Decimate Access to Family Planning
Last night, the US House Representatives released a fiscal year (FY) 2017 budget reconciliation package that would gut essential elements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that have put health care coverage in reach for those who otherwise could not afford it. Read more.
February 14, 2017
NFPRHA Urges House to Block Rep. Black Resolution
On behalf of the network of publicly funded family planning providers, including state and local health departments, hospitals, family planning councils, federally qualified health centers, Planned Parenthood affiliates, and other private non-profit organizations, NFPRHA strongly opposes H.J. Res 43, the congressional disapproval resolution that would block a regulation clarifying and reinforcing existing provider protections within the Title X family planning program. Read more.
January 24, 2017
NFPRHA Opposes Confirmation of Congressman Tom Price as HHS Secretary
In a letter sent to the Senate Finance Committee today, NFPRHA expressed its opposition to the nomination of Representative Tom Price (R-GA) as Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services citing his long history of not supporting the publicly funded family planning network and the millions of patients it serves. Read more.
December 14, 2016
Title X Protections Will Not Shield Program from Peril
We celebrate today’s long overdue step toward strengthening and protecting the diverse network of family planning providers on which millions of poor and low-income women and men rely for high-quality family planning and sexual health care. Unfortunately, this protection may only be temporary. Read more.
September 2, 2016
HHS Proposal to Improve Title X a Welcome Starting Point
NFPRHA commends the Obama administration for publishing a notice of proposed rulemaking today designed to clarify and strengthen longstanding patient protections for the more than 4 million women and men who seek care through the Title X family planning program, the nation’s only dedicated source of public funding for family planning,” said Clare Coleman, President & CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA). Read more.
September 1, 2016
Years of Budget Cuts Threaten Access to Family Planning Care
The report shows that in 2015, 4 million women and men sought services in the Title X network, which is 23% lower (1.2 million people fewer) than the program’s peak in 2010. This marks the fourth year in a row that the Title X program has sustained a decline in patient volume and the sixth year in a row that the program has not received any additional service delivery funding. Read more.
July 14, 2016
NFPRHA Denounces House Bill That Fails to Fund Title X
NFPRHA is extremely disappointed that the House has chosen to put politics over policy and failed to fund the Title X family planning program, the nation’s only funding source dedicated solely to reducing unintended pregnancy by providing family planning and sexual health care, including contraception, counseling, cancer screenings, and STD services to an estimated 4.1 million women and men every year. Read more.
July 6, 2016
House Proposes Title X Elimination
Today, the House appropriations subcommittee released a draft fiscal year (FY) 2017 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) funding bill that eliminates the Title X family planning program. Read more.
June 27, 2016
Whole Woman’s Health Supreme Court Decision a Major Victory for Women’s Health
NFPRHA celebrates today’s Supreme Court ruling in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, the most significant abortion case in nearly 25 years, which challenged provisions of a Texas law that place unnecessary and baseless restrictions to safe and legal abortions and hamper the family planning provider network’s capacity to provide comprehensive, high-quality health care that millions of women and men count on every year. Read more.
June 14, 2016
NFPRHA Welcomes New Guidance Designed to Strengthen the Provision of Family Planning in Medicaid
Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released guidance designed to reinforce Medicaid program rules, strengthen the delivery of high-quality family planning services and supplies under Medicaid, and encourage states to implement approaches to ensure timely access to care. Read more.
June 7, 2016
Senate Proposal Fails the Title X Network
Today, the US Senate Appropriations Subcommittee released a draft fiscal year (FY) 2017 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) funding bill that flat funds the Title X family planning program. Read more.
June 7, 2016
NFPRHA Celebrates Major Milestone in Legal Access to Contraception
Today, the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), representing publicly funded family planning providers across the country, celebrates the 51st anniversary of the 1965 landmark Supreme Court decision Griswold v. Connecticut, which affirmed the right of married couples to use contraception and first recognized an individual’s right to privacy in family planning matters. Read more.
March 23, 2016
Contraceptive Coverage Must Be Protected
Today the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Zubik v. Burwell, a challenge to the Obama administration’s accommodation for religiously affiliated nonprofit organizations that object to providing contraceptive coverage for their employees. A ruling in favor of the plaintiffs could have troubling repercussions on women’s access to care in this country. Read more.
February 9, 2016
White House Budget Falls Short on Family Planning
NFPRHA is relieved the president’s fiscal year (FY) 2017 budget request includes $300 million for Title X, a modest increase in funding for the nation's family planning program. Unfortunately, we believe the president missed a prime opportunity to build on his legacy of improved public health by dedicating the resources needed to truly meet the growing demand of publicly funded family planning care in this country. Read more.
December 16, 2015
FY 2016 Omnibus a Missed Opportunity for Family Planning
Despite the more than $5 billion increase in spending authority for programs under the Labor, Health and Humans Services jurisdiction, Congress chose not to dedicate a stronger investment in public health programs that are proven to deliver results. Read more.
December 3, 2015
Senate Reconciliation Package Threatens Health Care Access
NFPRHA is very disappointed in Senate passage of the budget reconciliation package, which excludes Planned Parenthood from participating in the Medicaid program for one year, dismantles key components of the Affordable Care Act, and includes a provision that phases out the Medicaid expansion, which has allowed millions of poor and low-income individuals to access to health coverage and care. Read more.
November 6, 2015
NFPRHA Urges Supreme Court to Uphold Contraceptive Coverage Access
Despite the Court’s ruling in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., legal challenges designed to upend bedrock protections of the Affordable Care Act and restrict women’s access to care persist. Today, the Supreme Court announced it will take up seven cases seeking permission for certain employers to use their religious objections to block women from getting the essential health coverage to which they are entitled by law. Read more.
September 17, 2015
Black Bill Puts Politics over Patients
As the national membership organization representing publicly funded family planning providers, NFPRHA strongly opposes HR 3134, sponsored by Rep. Diane Black (R-TN), that would place a one-year moratorium on all federal funding for Planned Parenthood, including the Title X family planning program and Medicaid, and redirect funding only to federally qualified health centers (FQHC) during the same period. Read more.
September 2, 2015
Title X Network Struggles with Continued Cuts, Declining Patient Numbers
For a fourth year in a row, the Title X family planning program, the federal grant program that helps states and local communities provide comprehensive family planning care, including contraception, counseling, STD services, and cancer screenings to low-income women and men, is experiencing a dramatic decline in patient volume despite a growing need for these services in communities across the country, according to the HHS Office of Population Affairs’ Family Planning Annual Report (FPAR) released on September 2. Read more.
August 3, 2015
Senate Vote to Reject Ernst Bill is a Victory for Women’s Health
Today’s vote is a victory for the millions of women and men who rely on the family planning safety net every year and the trusted providers who care for them. Read more.
July 29, 2015
Ernst Bill Must Be Rejected
As the national membership organization representing America's publicly funded family planning providers – state, county, and local health departments, hospitals, family planning councils, federally qualified health centers and other private non-profit organizations including Planned Parenthood affiliates - NFPRHA stands in strong opposition to S. 1881, introduced by Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA). Read more.
July 10, 2015
White House Opposes Damaging Title X Cuts
On Thursday, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) expressed serious concerns about a Senate funding bill that slashes the Title X family planning program by $28.7 million, or 10%, to $257.8 million. The following is a statement from Clare Coleman, President & CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA). Read more.
June 25, 2015
Supreme Court Decision Secures Affordable Access to Care for Millions
Today’s ruling by the high court in King v. Burwell is a major victory in the efforts to improve the quality, affordability, and accessibility of preventive health services, including contraception, in the country. The Supreme Court upheld Congress’ intent to provide financial assistance to individuals seeking affordable health coverage, regardless of whether they reside in a state that opted to operate its own marketplace under the Affordable Care Act. Read more.
June 23, 2015
Senate’s Proposed Cuts to Title X are Pound-Foolish
The US Senate Appropriations Subcommittee responsible for funding the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies today released its fiscal year (FY) 2016 funding proposal that cuts funding for Title X, the nation’s family planning program by $28.7 million (10%) to $257.8 million. Full release.
June 17, 2015
Ranking Members Lowey and DeLauro Stand Up for Title X
NFPRHA applauds Representatives Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) for offering amendments to the FY 2016 Labor-HHS appropriations package to restore critical funding to the Title X family planning program. If either amendment was adopted, Title X, which has been woefully underfunded in recent history, would receive $300 million, a much-needed infusion of resources aligned with the President’s FY 2016 budget request instead of its proposed elimination in the Chairman’s mark. Full release.
June 16, 2015
House Subcommittee Funding Proposal Eliminates Family Planning Program
The House Appropriations Labor-HHS Subcommittee today issued a fiscal year 2016 funding proposal that would eliminate funding for the Title X family planning program, the nation’s only grant program solely dedicated to providing family planning and other preventive health care to low-income, under-insured, and uninsured individuals who otherwise would lack access to care. Full release.
June 4, 2015
Poll: Strong Public Support for Increased Family Planning Funding, Right to Privacy in Family Planning
A national public opinion poll released today by the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Griswold v. Connecticut, shows that the current anti-women’s health agenda being pushed in Congress today is out of sync with American women. Full Release.
May 11, 2015
NFPRHA Applauds HHS’ Commitment to Protecting Access to Birth Control
The National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) commends the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for affirming that women should have access to the full range of FDA-approved methods of contraception with no financial burden, as detailed in new guidance issued today on the Affordable Care Act’s women’s preventive health services benefit. Full Release.
April 22, 2015
HEAL Act Could Dramatically Reduce Health Disparities in the US
The National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) commends Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) for introducing the Health Equity and Access under the Law (HEAL) for Immigrant Women and Families Act today, which would ensure timely access to affordable, confidential, high-quality family planning and sexual health services, supplies, and information for millions of vulnerable people across the country. Full Release.
March 4, 2015
Removing Tax Credits Creates Uncertainty for Family Planning Network
Today the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in King v. Burwell, a case that will decide whether financial assistance to purchase health coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) can continue to be made available in the 34 states that participate in the federally supported marketplace. If the Court rules in favor of the plaintiffs, an estimated 9.3 million people will be at risk of losing access to affordable care, and women in particular will bear the brunt of the burden. Full Release.
February 2, 2015
President Renews Call to Strengthen Family Planning
NFPRHA commends the president for demonstrating a commitment to strengthening the publicly funded family planning network by calling for Title X to be increased to $300 million, an increase of $13.5 million over FY 2015 funding. This investment is vital to the network’s capacity to provide care to the millions of men and women who rely on Title X as their primary source of care. Full Release.
December 13, 2014
Omnibus Spending Bill Levels Funds for Title X Family Planning
Late Saturday, Congress passed a fiscal year (FY) 2015 spending package that nowhere meets the needs to ensure access to high-quality family planning and sexual health services for low-income and uninsured women and families across the country. NFPRHA is disappointed that Congress has once again abdicated its responsibility to make true funding decisions by passing a package that primarily reflects previous year’s funding vis-à-vis a continuing resolution-like model. The bill contains no new funding for Title X, our nation’s family planning program dedicated to providing family planning and contraceptive services, counseling, education, and preventive health screenings to nearly 4.6 million women and men every year. Full Release.
November 13, 2014
Family Planning Health Centers Play Crucial Role in Raising Awareness about Enrollment
As the membership organization representing family planning administrators and clinicians predominantly serving low-income and uninsured women and men, the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) knows publicly funded family planning health centers are uniquely positioned to help uninsured and hard-to-reach populations gain access to new, more affordable health coverage available through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Full Release.
November 7, 2014
Supreme Court’s Decision to Hear King v. Burwell Troubling, Says NFPRHA
Today’s decision by the US Supreme Court to take up King v. Burwell raises new and troubling questions. One of the primary goals of the health reform law was to make care more affordable. It was so important, Congress included it in the name: the Affordable Care Act. The premium subsidies are essential to that affordability, offering a lifeline to millions of women and families who have been able to access high-quality health coverage through the law, many for the first time in their lives. Full Release.
September 29, 2014
NFPRHA Heralds New LARC Policy from the American Academy of Pediatrics
NFPRHA commends the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) for issuing new recommendations on long-acting reversible contraceptive (LARC)—intrauterine device (IUD) and contraceptive implant— use among adolescent girls. Full Release.
August 22, 2014
Administration Releases Interim Final Rule Expanding Contraceptive Coverage Accommodation
Today’s rulemaking is designed to help ensure that women impacted by the Supreme Court’s recent decisions undermining contraceptive coverage can continue to access these important preventive health services without financial barriers. Full Release.
August 1, 2012
NFPRHA, Nation’s Leading Advocate for Publicly Funded Family Planning, Celebrates Start of Women’s Health Preventive Benefits Coverage
Today, the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) celebrates the implementation of a critical provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for women and their families: access to routine preventive health care services, including contraceptive coverage and counseling, well-woman visits, STD testing, and domestic violence counseling, at no additional cost to women with commercial insurance. The start of this coverage is a critical first phase to ensuring affordable health care for many more women. Full Release.
June 7, 2012
NFPRHA, Nation’s Leading Advocate for Publicly Funded Family Planning, Marks 47th Anniversary of the Griswold v. Connecticut Decision
Today, the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) salutes the 47th anniversary of the 1965 landmark Supreme Court decision Griswold v. Connecticut, which affirmed the right of married couples to use contraceptives and first recognized an individual’s right to privacy in family planning matters. The Griswold case helped pave the way for Title X (ten), the national family planning program, sponsored by then-Representative George H. W. Bush and signed into law in 1970 by President Richard Nixon. Full Release.