Federally Qualified Health Centers and the Publicly Funded Family Planning Safety Net
FQHCs are an integral part of the publicly funded family planning effort in the United States, but it is unrealistic to expect these sites to serve the millions of women who currently rely on Planned Parenthood health centers for high-quality contraceptive care. Socially conservative policymakers are seeking to take public funding for family planning away from Planned Parenthood and other providers focused on reproductive health, suggesting that federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) could take their place.
The Role and Scope of Federally Qualified Health Centers
Health centers are community-based and patient-directed that deliver comprehensive, culturally competent, high-quality primary health care services. FQHCs are an essential part of the nation’s overall health care safety net, serving 25 million people annually, seven in 10 of whom live at or below the federal poverty level. Their role has been expanded by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which invested billions of new dollars into FQHC infrastructure, driving considerable nationwide growth in the number of sites and their capacity.
In Cincinnati, there are 67 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) dedicated to authentic healthcare for women that provide medical, OB/GYN, pediatrics, and behavioral health services. Many sites include an on-site pharmacy, and five also offer dental care. Across the state of Ohio, there are 637 Federally Qualified Health Centers to serve women and families that do not profit from abortion. This evidence suggests that women and families do not need abortion providers to receive high-quality, compassionate healthcare.
The Debate Over Public Funding and Capacity
Cincinnati Right to Life is thrilled to share that beginning today taxpayers have received a one-year reprieve from subsidizing America’s largest abortion provider—an institution that receives more than $800 million annually from hardworking families. This is a tremendous step forward for the protection of life and responsible stewardship of public funds. However, despite their growing importance to the family planning safety net, FQHC sites could not readily replace Planned Parenthood. To understand the capacity challenges, consider the following comparative data:
| Service Metric | Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) | Planned Parenthood Health Centers |
|---|---|---|
| Average contraceptive patients served per year | 320 | 2,950 |
| Percentage of sites offering full range of contraceptive methods | 52% | Nearly all |
| Counties where one provider type serves 5x more patients | N/A | 26% of counties with a Planned Parenthood |
Notably, FQHCs often do not provide family planning care at every site, and serve far fewer contraceptive patients on average. In 2015, out of the over 9,600 total FQHC sites in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, 5,830 of them (60%) reported offering contraceptive care to at least 10 women each year. Ending access to Planned Parenthood would be devastating, and leave millions of people with nowhere else to go for essential health care.
Regional Impact and Community Healthcare Models
In Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Valley shows why shifting public funding is a topic of intense discussion. Neighborhood Health Centers of Lehigh Valley (NHCLV) currently serves Allentown, Easton and Bethlehem, helping patients learn to navigate the complicated world of health care and strengthen connections with their clinicians. The HHS award of $287,546 to NHCLV allowed them to open a new clinic expected to help 3,000 new patients with comprehensive health care services including primary care, prenatal care, women’s health and family planning.
For Ohio, this reprieve is especially significant because with the 2023 enshrinement of abortion in the state Constitution, Ohio has become an abortion travel hub. Cincinnati Right to Life will continue to advocate for the permanent redirection of taxpayer funding away from abortion and toward authentic healthcare providers who serve families with dignity, compassion, and respect for all human life. The Title X national family planning program’s ability to yield significant health and economic benefits relies on a diverse network of safety-net providers—a network that should include, but cannot be limited to, FQHC sites.