How does Planned Parenthood get its funding?
Planned Parenthood delivers vital reproductive health care, sex education, and information to millions of women, men, and young people worldwide. An estimated 1 in 5 U.S. women will visit a Planned Parenthood health center in her lifetime. And a number of recent national polls have shown overwhelmingly that the American people support Planned Parenthood.
Planned Parenthood funding comes from:
- Medicaid reimbursement, which is a combination of state and federal funds
- Title X
- Patients who use private health insurance or pay out of pocket
- Donations
- Other government programs and grants
You may have heard some politicians talk about defunding Planned Parenthood. But what does “defunding Planned Parenthood” actually mean?
There isn’t a line-item in the federal budget for Planned Parenthood. And the federal government doesn’t just write blank checks to organizations. When people talk about “defunding,” what they’re really talking about is removing Planned Parenthood from federal programs — specifically, Medicaid and Title X.
Medicaid
Medicaid is government-funded insurance for low-income people. Like many hospitals and clinics around the U.S., Planned Parenthood participates in the Medicaid program. There’s federal funding for Medicaid and also state funding for Medicaid.
When a patient goes to a Planned Parenthood health center and uses their Medicaid insurance, the Medicaid program reimburses the health center for the cost of the patient’s visit — just like it would for any other provider. At least 60 percent of Planned Parenthood patients rely on government-funded health care like Medicaid.
Do your tax dollars pay for abortion services at Planned Parenthood health centers? The reality is no federal money can be used to pay for abortion services except in rare cases of rape, incest, or if the pregnant person’s life is in danger. That’s because of The Hyde Amendment: The Hyde Amendment is an unjust federal policy that prohibits federal dollars from paying for abortion with very few exceptions.
However, the Hyde Amendment doesn’t keep states from using their own money to cover abortion. Right now, 17 states permit state funds to cover abortion for those who have insurance through Medicaid.
Reproductive health, rights, and justice activists — including Planned Parenthood — are working to overturn the Hyde Amendment, since it unfairly affects poor women, especially poor women of color, by keeping them from accessing abortion services.
Title X
Politicians have also tried to defund Planned Parenthood through Title X, the nation’s family planning program. Planned Parenthood health centers care for about 1.5 million patients through Title X — roughly one third of the more than 4 million people served by the program.
After Kansas attempted to block access to care at Planned Parenthood, Parenthood and other reproductive health providers, the number of people accessing birth control, cancer screenings, STD tests, well-woman exams, and other care through the Title X program fell by more than 14,000.
So despite what some anti-abortion groups or extreme politicians might say, the only thing “defunding” Planned Parenthood accomplishes is to take away access to lifesaving cancer screenings, STD testing, and other essential health services that Planned Parenthood provides.
For every $1 that Americans contribute to public family planning programs, we save more than $7 that would have otherwise been spent on unplanned pregnancies, or from delayed cancer screenings and other health problems best addressed with preventive care. Medicaid and Title X funds are government dollars well-spent.
Planned Parenthood also receives money from a few other sources: health center visits, donations and other government grants.
Health center visits
Like all health care providers, when patients use private insurance, Planned Parenthood benefits by receiving the revenue. As a non-profit, the revenue gets used to fund the organization’s operations and programs. The same is true for people who don’t use insurance and pay out of pocket for their health care.
Private donations and grants
Private donations are critical for non-profits, including Planned Parenthood. Some Planned Parenthood health centers use a sliding scale, so patients only pay what they can afford — this is because of grants or programs set up thanks to private donations.
If politicians out to “defund” Planned Parenthood have their way, they’ll block millions of patients who depend on Medicaid and other public health care programs from accessing care. Their ultimate goal is is to shut down all Planned Parenthood health centers.
Many Planned Parenthood patients — nearly half of whom are people of color, and many of whom live in rural areas — would have nowhere else to turn for health care. Defunding Planned Parenthood would cause a national health care disaster.
