Planned parenthood clinics how many

For more than 50 years, a network of public programs and providers have assisted millions of low-income women of childbearing age in the U. Medicaid, the Title X Family Planning Program, and Section of the Public Health Service Act PHSA provide critical support to more than 10, safety-net clinics across the country that provide reproductive health services to low-income women, men, and teens.

Since the election, state and federal efforts to restrict public funding to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers and to funnel new federal funds to faith-based providers who oppose contraceptives and abortion have gained traction and begun to shift the family planning landscape across the nation. One in three low-income women in the US relies on a clinic, either a health center, Planned Parenthood or other publicly-funded clinic to get contraception Figure 1.

These providers also offer STI screening and treatment services, and other preventive care and for some women are the sole source of their medical care. Medicaid, Title X, and other federal and government programs are critical sources of funding for these clinic-based providers.

Poor women are more likely to experience an unintended pregnancy , have an abortion , contract a sexually transmitted infection STI and have less access to care than higher income women. Medicaid —Health coverage program that covers more than 70 million low-income individuals.

Operated jointly by federal and state governments, all beneficiaries have coverage for family planning services, and according to federal statute, may see the participating provider of their choice. Medicaid is the largest funding source for public family planning services. The program provides funds to approximately 4, clinics across the nation to support the delivery of family planning services to low-income individuals.

All FQHCs provide some family planning care within their network. Over the past three years, policy changes at the state and federal level in Medicaid and Title X have restricted providers from receiving federal and state funds if they provide abortion services in addition to family planning care.

This brief reviews the role of these public programs and providers in financing care and enabling access to family planning services. It also addresses the impact of actions taken by President Trump and Congress to block federal funds from Planned Parenthood and other entities that provide abortion. Across the nation, the share of low-income reproductive-age women enrolled in Medicaid varies considerably by state.

In , the most recent year in which national enrollment data is available, For these women, Medicaid provides comprehensive affordable coverage to help meet the full range of their health care needs, and guarantees that they will not have any out of pocket costs for family planning services and pregnancy-related care. Most state Medicaid programs make the full range of FDA approved contraceptives available to women, and nearly all cover counseling on STIs and HIV as well as screening for cervical cancer.

The program funds organizations in each state to distribute federal dollars to safety-net clinics to provide family planning services to low-income, uninsured, and underserved clients.

In June of , approximately 4, clinics nationwide received Title X funding, including specialized family planning clinics such as Planned Parenthood centers, primary care providers such as federally qualified health centers FQHCs , and health departments, school-based, faith-based, and other private nonprofits Appendix Table 2.

Planned Parenthood says it prevents an estimated , unintended pregnancies per year. In , Planned Parenthood saw:. Pregnancy tests: 1. Prenatal care: provided to 17, people in Sexually transmitted disease screening and treatment. Pap smears cervical cancer screening : , per year. Breast exams: , per year. Research: Planned Parenthood said in its annual report that it participated in more than 70 research projects.

According to the Guttmacher Institute PDF , publicly funded family planning in helped women avoid 2 million unintended pregnancies. Planned Parenthood is also more likely to facilitate the choice and uptake of a contraceptive method, as well as help a high volume of patients who need contraceptive care. Join the conversation. Sharon Dudash has been taking her time packing up the Planned Parenthood center in Kent, where she has worked for the past seven years.

The clinic closed its doors in February, one of three Planned Parenthood centers in Washington state that have quietly shut down since the start of the year. Like many other businesses and nonprofits, Planned Parenthood has been hurt by the pandemic. Other clinics have felt the strain, too.

If lawmakers do not do so, Planned Parenthood said as many as six of its other clinics across the state are at risk of closure.

Rebecca Gibron, the chief operating officer of Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands, said the financial problem has been building for years due to inadequate reimbursement rates, but the pandemic pushed the organization over the edge. While the closures still leave open more than two dozen Planned Parenthood locations throughout Washington state, it means some counties — including Mason County, where Shelton is located — no longer have a Planned Parenthood location.

Now, a Shelton resident who wants to visit Planned Parenthood must travel to Olympia, roughly 25 miles away, or to Bremerton, about 35 miles away, for an appointment. Dudash said many of the people who relied on the health center in Kent also will have difficulty getting to another center. A good number also are lower income and rely on public transit, which means even a few extra miles can make for a much longer and more inconvenient trip, said Dr. That patient instead was able to get an evaluation at the Kent center that was closer to her, Berry said.

Now that the Kent center is closed, that same person would have had to go farther and potentially delay their treatment, Berry said. Sharon Dudash pulls a marketing photograph from a wall at Planned Parenthood in Kent on March 10,