FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – September 2, 2016
Contact: Ponta Abadi, pabadi@nfprha.org

HHS Proposal to Improve Title X a Welcome Starting Point 

WASHINGTON, DC – 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).

“Fundamental to Title X is that its provider network is designed by communities for communities, allowing patients to access trusted health care providers that are the most qualified and best-equipped to help them achieve their family planning goals,” says Coleman. “We thank the Obama administration for standing with the family planning safety net by protecting providers from ideological discrimination that undermines the goals of the long-successful and effective Title X program.

“NFPRHA has been leading the effort to advance a regulation update that recognizes the essential role that Title X family planning plays in an evolving health care economy. While today’s notice is a modest, common-sense advance, this revision is long overdue to buttress safeguards core to the program’s integrity. It is imperative that HHS take swift and positive action to finalize this regulatory clarification that is essential to the integrity and impact of the Title X program.”

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NFPRHA represents the broad spectrum of family planning administrators and clinicians serving the nation's low-income and uninsured. NFPRHA’s nearly 900 member organizations operate or fund a network of nearly 5,000 health centers and service sites that provide comprehensive family planning services to millions of low-income and uninsured or underinsured individuals in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam.