Title X, the government-supported family planning service that has helped low-income Americans access reproductive health services since 1970, served 193.5 million people during its first 50 years.
But funding for the program has been flat at $286.5 million for nine straight years, including in fiscal 2023, despite a growing population, inflation and unmet need for family planning services in many parts of the country. That’s led to uncertainty for individual Title X service providers, some of whom have had to seek outside support, and calls from Democratic lawmakers and the White House for a major increase in federal spending.
According to the nonprofit National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, the demand on the program led the federal government to tell 11 grantees last year that while they met the credentials for a full five-year grant, the program did not have enough money to provide them with one. The grantees, which include local health departments, nonprofits, jurisdictions and health facilities, were given funds to phase down from the Title X program by March 31, 2023.
