Title X: The Nation’s Program for Affordable Birth Control and Reproductive Health Care

What Health Care Services Does Title X Provide?

In 2023, Title X served roughly 2.8 million people: nearly two-thirds had incomes at or under the federal poverty level; and nearly one-third lacked health insurance. In many cases, many people who get services through the program don't even know Title X exists. The program requires health care providers to use a sliding-fee scale. And patients with income levels at or below 100% of the federal poverty level ($30,000 for a household of four in the 48 contiguous states and D.C.) qualify for free reproductive health services.

Title X health care services include:

• Birth control
• Cervical and breast cancer screenings
• Family planning education
• Basic infertility services
• STI testing and treatment 
• Wellness exams

Planned Parenthood providers are proudly part of the Title X network.

Ever since the Title X program began, Planned Parenthood health centers have proudly participated in it — except for a 2+ year period during President Trump's first term. In 2019, his administration enacted a Title X "gag" rule that undermined the patient-doctor relationship by censoring health information providers could give their patients. The rule barred Title X providers from sharing patients' full range of pregnancy options, namely banning any and all discussion about abortion.

The "gag" rule put providers like Planned Parenthood in an unconscionable position: The censorship, or "gag," guidelines undercut providers' ethical responsibility to offer the best, medically accurate information. The rule also made it impossible for patients in the program to make fully informed decisions about their health and their bodies.

Planned Parenthood health centers, along with many other providers, were forced to exit the Title X program as a result of the rule. That “gag” rule slashed the national family planning program's patient capacity in half. Ultimately, it forced almost 900 Title X sites, including more than 400 Planned Parenthood health centers, out of Title X, according to the Guttmacher Institute. The “gag” rule also made the already-burdensome hurdles to basic health care even worse for many people Title X was created to help: particularly for Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities, LGBTQ+ people, young people, people with low incomes, and those living in rural communities.

Fortunately, in 2021, the Biden administration repealed the “gag” rule and implemented a new rule that required Title X participants to provide the high-quality and comprehensive care patients deserve. Planned Parenthood health centers and other qualified providers re-entered the program. 

In 2023, Title X served nearly 2.8 million people nationwide. That same year, roughly 36% of all Title X services across the country were provided by Planned Parenthood health centers.

But now, President Trump has once again targeted patient care with new attacks on Title X. 

Planned Parenthood and its health center patients face renewed threats to Title X with the second Trump administration. In March 2025, the Trump administration withheld funding from Title X providers in 23 states — including many Planned Parenthood health centers. Holding back funds effectively blocks people from getting birth control, STI testing and treatment, and lifesaving cancer screenings. And the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services — which operates Title X — supports another “gag” rule. 

The health and lives of Planned Parenthood health center patients are at grave risk without access to quality, affordable sexual and reproductive health services through the Title X program. 

Cruel attacks on diversity, including LGBTQ+ communities and people of color, were a hallmark of President Trump's 2024 campaign promise. So it is not surprising that Title X attacks will most harm people who already face structural racism and discrimination barriers to health care. Inequities caused by systemic racism, homophobia, transphobia, and other issues drive income disparity and largely account for a large portion of people who rely on Title X. In 2023, 23% of patients in the Title X program identified as Black or African American and more than 35% identified as Hispanic or Latino. Withholding Title X funding could worsen the health outcomes these communities already experience.  

For Black women and Latinas in particular, whose bodies have long been policed in this country, reproductive freedom and health care access continue to be uniquely undermined. With Title X under attack once again, the Trump administration will deepen existing health crises. 

• Black women already face delayed health diagnoses, higher rates of cervical cancer, and higher breast and cervical cancer mortality rates. Without access to Title X providers, hurdles to getting critical health services — like cancer screenings — would be even harder to surmount.
• More than half of trans people said cost was the reason they delayed or went without health care. Withholding funding from Title X puts affordable care out of reach for even more trans people.
• Young people’s access to reproductive health care is increasingly subject to restrictions. Most Title X patients are under 30 years old.

Title X was created to ensure that people could get the care they need. Planned Parenthood health centers across the country proudly participate in the Title X program and will continue to do everything possible to provide patients with quality, affordable sexual and reproductive health care.

_{This page was last updated May 2025.}