Women's Health and the Budget

Each year, the president, the House, and the Senate lay out their priorities for the country when they release their annual budgets. These budgets serve as a reflection of their value system and their vision for the future.  

For women’s health, this can include funding for Title X, teen pregnancy prevention programs, and global health programs, including international family planning and reproductive health. While the actual funding of the government occurs during the appropriations process, the proposed budgets serve as guidelines for the legislators who actually allocate money. 

Between the current fiscal year’s budget, the budget for FY2014, the debt ceiling, and the triggered sequester cuts to curb the deficit, there are a number of budget fights on the horizon — and women’s health will be on the table in every one. In any of these proposed fights, Planned Parenthood will work to ensure that programs that expand access to health care (especially for women) are preserved. 

The Affordable Care Act, Title X, and Medicaid are three major programs that Planned Parenthood is working to protect. We’re working to remind Congress that investing in family planning programs not only saves lives, it saves taxpayer money.

Here are some breakdowns of major budgetary issues facing women’s health. 

The House Budget aka “The Ryan Budget”: With a budget that represents a dramatic rollback of access to women’s health, all in the name of balancing the budget, Paul Ryan and other members propose limits to women’s access to health care, attempting to save taxpayer money at women’s expense. Learn more.

Women’s Health and the Sequester: One of the biggest issues facing women’s health care providers involves “sequestration” the term for the across-the-board, draconian budget cuts split 50-50 between defense and non-defense spending. Learn more.