Don’t Let Congress Cut Off Affordable Birth Control Again

Imagine finding out that the only publicly funded birth control provider in your county is closing thanks to Republicans in Congress.

New data from the Guttmacher Institute identifies 29 counties where Planned Parenthood filled that role. In its model, removing those clinics would leave about 240,000 women without a local source of affordable contraceptive care.

And that is only the sharpest edge of the risk. Nationwide, Guttmacher estimates that 12.4 million women would live in counties with reduced access to publicly funded contraception if Planned Parenthood were removed from the network. That scenario includes losing both Medicaid reimbursements and Title X funding.

Congress has already tested what a cutoff can do. It blocked federal Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood for a year, and nearly 30 health centers closed during that period. The restriction expired this summer, but the clinics that closed did not automatically reopen.

We can't allow Congress to take care away from even more people.

Tell Congress: Protect Medicaid patients’ access to covered birth control care at qualified providers, including Planned Parenthood.

When a clinic closes, patients have to travel farther, wait longer, or find another way to pay for care. Planned Parenthood served about one-third of patients receiving contraceptive care at publicly funded family planning centers in 2020. Other providers cannot instantly take on everyone its health centers serve.

Some states still exclude Planned Parenthood from Medicaid, preventing patients from using their coverage there for birth control, STI testing, and other covered services. Congress can establish a clear national protection: A qualified provider’s separate abortion services should not prevent a Medicaid patient from using their coverage for contraceptive care.

Guttmacher’s estimates describe what could happen if access shrinks further. Congress has time to prevent another federal cutoff—and a responsibility to protect patients before more clinic doors close.

Sign the petition: Keep affordable birth control within reach. Protect Medicaid patients' access to care at Planned Parenthood and other qualified providers.

The petition to Congress reads:

“Pass legislation protecting Medicaid reimbursement for covered contraceptive care at qualified providers, including Planned Parenthood, regardless of whether they separately provide abortion care.”