How Federal Funding Works at Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood is made up of a national office with a headquarters in New York City, as well as a network of 53 affiliates nationwide that operate more than 600 health centers and provide a wide range of safe, reliable health care services that reflect the diverse needs of their communities. 

Care and Revenue

Anti-abortion politicians who push “defund” attacks like to talk about Planned Parenthood’s “revenue.” But what Planned Parenthood health centers do is health care. Planned Parenthood gets reimbursed for delivering care — just like any other health care provider. 

The pie chart below shows the overall revenue for Planned Parenthood’s national office and affiliates.

About a third of the revenue received at Planned Parenthood (34%) is from government health services reimbursements and grants, such as Medicaid and Title X. In 2017, those reimbursements and grants added up to $564 million — all of which went to health centers for medical services. Most of that money came through patients’ Medicaid coverage; a smaller fraction, totaling between $50 million and $60 million, came through Title X grants. In a purposeful move to push Planned Parenthood out of the program, the Trump-Pence administration has made recent changes to Title X—risking health care for tens of thousands of patients.

Does the Government “Fund” Planned Parenthood?

With all the talk in Washington about “defunding Planned Parenthood,” you might think there’s a specific, Planned Parenthood line item in the federal budget that Congress and the president can just zero out. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Most of Planned Parenthood’s federal funding is from Medicaid reimbursements for preventive care, and some is from Title X. At least  60% of Planned Parenthood patients rely on public health programs like Medicaid and Title X for preventive and primary care. “Defund" legislation immediately blocks these patients from care at Planned Parenthood centers — patients like Casey:

Most Federal Funds = Medicaid Reimbursements for Preventive Care

To understand what federal funds pay for at Planned Parenthood, you first need to know that federal tax dollars don’t pay for abortions. An unfair law already prohibits that (except in cases of rape, incest, or when a woman’s life is in danger).

Most federal funds come through Medicaid, the government-funded health insurance plan for people with low incomes. Just like other kinds of insurance, Medicaid reimburses Planned Parenthood’s doctors and nurses for the preventive medical services they provide, including lifesaving cancer screenings, HIV tests, and birth control.

Title X

Planned Parenthood’s health centers also get federal funds for delivering vital services through Title X, the nation’s family planning program — funds that can only be used to support family planning health care.

Planned Parenthood serves 1.5 million of Title X’s over 4 million patients each year, helping people who often don’t have access to family planning care anywhere else. Without Planned Parenthood, many of these patients wouldn’t get the health care they need to take control of their lives.

Serious Stats

Talking about funding, it’s important to note that:

• The government saves $7 in Medicaid-related costs for every dollar invested in publicly funded family planning programs like Title X.

• Barring Planned Parenthood health centers from Medicaid would result in a net cost of $130 million to taxpayers over 10 years due to increased unintended pregnancies without Planned Parenthood's contraceptive care, projects the Congressional Budget Office.

• Planned Parenthood health centers prevent at least 579,000 unintended pregnancies a year, estimates say.

Impact of Shutting Down Planned Parenthood

If politicians out to “defund” Planned Parenthood have their way, they will block millions of patients who depend on Medicaid and other public health care programs from accessing care at Planned Parenthood health centers. And we all know their ultimate goal: To shut down all Planned Parenthood health centers. If that happens, it would cause a national health care disaster.

"Defunding" would have devastating consequences for millions of people who already face barriers to care — particularly people of color, people with low incomes, and people in rural communities. Nearly half of Planned Parenthood patients are people of color, and many live in rural areas who would have nowhere else to turn for health care. Without Planned Parenthood, there aren’t enough health care providers to deliver the millions of medical services it provides each year.

We won’t let that happen. Are you ready to fight back and stand with Planned Parenthood? Join the fight!