FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 26, 2020
Contact: Kat Mavengere, (202) 641-6184, kmavengere_consultant@nfprha.org

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. The following is a statement from Clare Coleman, President & CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association:

WASHINGTON, DC - “While I applaud Congress’s swift action to provide resources across several, essential sectors that underpin communities, it is wholly disappointing that Congress failed to support the entirety of the nation’s public health infrastructure. The health care safety net is a diverse network of providers that for years have delivered high-quality care to poor and low-income individuals across this country with limited resources. However, to the detriment of our nation’s most vulnerable, the majority of Public Health Service Act programs were overlooked for additional financial support.

“During this national health care crisis, that anti-choice activists in Congress and the White House used a pandemic response to target sexual and reproductive health care and its providers, is antithetical to the urgent need to prioritize the public’s health and well-being. Family planning and sexual health care is fundamental to the health and well-being of individuals and families under any circumstances, but especially now. Deliberately seeking to exclude Planned Parenthood from accessing small business loan assistance at a time when the health care safety net is ever more critical, and attaching harmful “Hyde” policy language to prevent individuals from accessing abortion coverage does not reflect public health leadership.

“The publicly funded family planning network is doing its part to support communities during the Covid-19 pandemic. Now more than ever, the leaders of this country should be demonstrating a unified commitment to public health by supporting the entirety of the health care safety net in this country and the individuals who rely on it.”

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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.