FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Audrey Ann Ross
215-985-2619
Statement from AccessMatters’ President & CEO Melissa Weiler Gerber on the Release of Final Title X Family Planning Rule
[PHILADELPHIA, PA – October 5, 2021]: Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) released its final rule for the Title X Family Planning program, which rescinds the Trump-era restrictions. AccessMatters’ released the following statement from Melissa Weiler Gerber:
“We applaud the Biden administration for its concrete action towards ending the restrictive 2019 Title X program rule yesterday, which has greatly hindered patients and family planning providers and threatened access to care across Pennsylvania and the nation.
The new Title X rule reverses the Trump-era ruling which imposed restrictions on providing information and services that significantly altered the critical national program. The 2019 Title X rule deeply impacted the network of healthcare providers that serve over 3 million people nationwide each year- including 169,754 Pennsylvanians of which more than 80,000 people annually are served by AccessMatters’ Title X Network in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
The harmful program restrictions put in place by the previous administration undermined the original intent of the Title X Family Planning Program and disrupted the Title X care network in our region and across the nation, limiting access to unbiased, comprehensive reproductive health services for Title X clients, and disproportionately impacting low-income and historically oppressed people.
We are pleased to see the restoration of Title X. Indeed, yesterday’s final rule signals to our provider network and our patients that our federal government is now supportive of our important work of getting people access to unbiased, comprehensive, and confidential sexual and reproductive health care and information from their provider of choice.”
– Melissa Weiler Gerber, President & CEO
HHS is expected to release a notice of funding opportunity for new Title X grants later this month. Yesterday’s final Title X rule will go into effect in 30 days from publication in the Federal Register and new Title X grants will begin on April 1, 2022.
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AccessMatters’ mission is to protect, expand, and enhance equitable access to sexual and reproductive health care and information for all people. For more information about AccessMatters’ programs, follow @AccessMatters4U on Twitter, and @AccessMatters on Facebook.