Response to Inquiry Concerning the Impact on Other Safety-Net Family Planning Providers of “Defunding” Planned Parenthood

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First published online:

MEMO

TO: Senator Patty Murray, Ranking Member, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee

FROM: Jennifer J. Frost, DrPH, Principal Research Scientist, Guttmacher Institute
Mia R. Zolna, MPH, Senior Research Associate, Guttmacher Institute

DATE: June 14, 2017

SUBJECT: Response to Inquiry Concerning the Impact on Other Safety-Net Family Planning Providers of "Defunding" Planned Parenthood

 

We are writing in response to your inquiry for additional data on how excluding Planned Parenthood from receiving federal funds would impact other types of safety-net family planning providers, both with regard to the overall family planning safety net and specifically within the network of providers currently supported by the Title X national family planning program.

In order to respond, we have expanded upon the analysis that we conducted in response to your April 7, 2017 request for information concerning the availability of publicly funded contraceptive care to U.S. women, particularly from sites operated by Planned Parenthood and federally qualified health centers (FQHCs).1 In this analysis, we assume that all the clients seeking contraceptive care who are currently served by Planned Parenthood health centers in each state would be distributed to other types of safety-net family planning centers in the same proportions that contraceptive clients are currently served by each of these other types of centers. We made the same assumptions for the Title X network. Key definitions of terms used in both of our analyses can be found on page 8 of our May 3, 2017 response.

As in our earlier analysis, the information presented here comes from 2015 data published in a recent Guttmacher report2 or from special tabulations of those data. These data were obtained through a comprehensive census of the more than 10,000 safety-net health centers that provide contraceptive care in the 50 states and District of Columbia. Data were obtained on the location and numbers of female contraceptive clients served at all sites according to the type of center providing care (FQHC, health department, hospital, Planned Parenthood or other independent site). Health centers are considered safety-net family planning centers if they provide contraceptive care to at least 10 clients each year.

National-level findings are highlighted below; state-level data are detailed in the attached tables.

What would be the impact on all other types of safety-net family planning providers if they needed to serve the contraceptive clients currently served by Planned Parenthood health centers?

Nationwide, two million (32%) of the 6.2 million contraceptive clients served by safety-net family planning centers are served at Planned Parenthood health centers.

In order to serve all the female contraceptive clients currently served at health centers operated by Planned Parenthood throughout the 50 states and the District of Columbia, other types of safety-net centers would need to increase their client caseload, on average, by 47%. Depending on the make-up of the family planning safety net in each state, this varies from no increase to an increase of more than 200%. Nationwide:

  • FQHC sites offering contraceptive care would have to increase their capacity to provide these services by 55%, or an additional one million contraceptive clients.
  • Health department sites would have to increase their capacity to provide these services by 26%, or an additional 321,000 contraceptive clients. 
  • Hospital sites would have to increase their capacity to provide these services by 57%, or an additional 350,000 contraceptive clients. 
  • Other sites, such as those operated by independent agencies, would have to increase their capacity to provide these services by 57%, or an additional 293,000 contraceptive clients. 
What would be the impact on all other types of Title X–funded providers if they needed to serve the contraceptive clients currently served by Title X–funded Planned Parenthood health centers?

Nationwide, 1.6 million (41%) of the 3.8 million contraceptive clients served by Title Xfunded providers are served at Planned Parenthood health centers.

In order to serve all the female contraceptive clients currently served by Title Xfunded health centers operated by Planned Parenthood throughout the 50 states and the District of Columbia, other types of Title X centers would need to increase their client caseload, on average, by 70%. Depending on the make-up of the Title Xfunded network in each state, this varies from no increase to an increase of more than 700%. Nationwide:

  • Title Xfunded FQHC sites would have to increase their capacity to provide these services by 116%, or an additional 826,000 contraceptive clients.
  • Title Xfunded health department sites would have to increase their capacity to provide these services by 31%, or an additional 339,000 contraceptive clients. 
  • Title Xfunded hospital sites would have to increase their capacity to provide these services by 77%, or an additional 151,000 contraceptive clients. 
  • Other Title Xfunded sites, such as those operated by independent agencies, would have to increase their capacity to provide these services by 101%, or an additional 257,000 contraceptive clients.

References

1. Frost JJ and Zolna MR, Response to inquiry concerning the availability of publicly funded contraceptive care to U.S. women, memo to Senator Patty Murray, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, New York: Guttmacher Institute, May 3, 2017, https://www.guttmacher.org/article/2017/05/guttmacher-murray-memo-2017.

2. Frost JJ et al., Publicly Funded Contraceptive Services at U.S. Clinics, 2015, New York: Guttmacher Institute, 2017, https://www.guttmacher.org/report/publicly-funded-contraceptive-service….