Biden Administration Releases Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Title X Federal Family Planning Program

Statement by Julie Rabinovitz, President + CEO, Essential Access Health

“The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking released today begins to restore the integrity of Title X, and marks a new chapter for our nation’s family planning program. We applaud the Biden Administration for their commitment to ensuring access to equitable, affordable, quality family planning services for low-income patients across the country.

“As a next step, we urge the administration to move quickly to issue an Interim Final Rule to suspend the harmful Trump-era regulations without unnecessary delays. If the proposed timeline is maintained, the reproductive health needs of millions of Title X patients could continue to be ignored for months to come.

“Every day that the Trump-era regulations are in place, the federal government is dictating a lower-standard of care for low-income patients and placing undue restrictions on patient access to complete and unbiased health information – disproportionately impacting rural regions and communities of color.

“Immediate suspension of enforcement of Trump’s policy changes would allow Title X patients to receive complete and unbiased information about their pregnancy options sooner rather than later. This action will ensure that Title X resources can be leveraged by the full force of a qualified provider network as soon as possible.

“There is no need to wait to fix Title X. Extensive evidence already on record demonstrates the devastating impact the current rules have had on the Title X family planning safety-net and access to time-sensitive health services nationwide. The regulations the Biden administration is proposing to replace them with would simply reinstate the standards and practices that were successfully implemented for nearly two decades.

“We are ready to rebuild our Title X system in partnership with the administration and once again fulfill Title X’s mandate to provide comprehensive family services to everyone, regardless of their income, race, zip code, or insurance or immigration status - with dignity and respect.” 

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Essential Access Health leads California’s statewide Title X provider network, the largest Title X system in the nation.