New Round of NH Family Planning Program Funds to Come Before Executive Council
For Immediate Release: Sept. 21, 2023
PPNNE, Lovering Health Center, and Equality Health Center Have Provided Affordable Care Without State Funding for Two Years
CONCORD, NH – The NH Department of Health and Human Services has released a Request for Proposals for the next round of funding for family planning providers. Funding requests are due on October 2, 2023.
Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, Equality Health Center, and Lovering Health Center have been operating without any state funding for family planning services – funding that goes towards services including STI testing and treatment, cancer screenings, and birth control for lower income individuals – since June 30, 2021. In 2020-2021, these three reproductive health providers delivered care to nearly 80 percent of patients in the New Hampshire Family Planning Program.
Following the RFP release, PPNNE, Lovering Health Center, and Equality Health Center released the following statements:
“For more than two years, access to affordable, quality family planning care has been in jeopardy for thousands of Granite Staters because of four consecutive votes to defund New Hampshire’s most trusted reproductive health care providers,” said Kayla Montgomery, Vice President of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. “There has never been a more critical time for the Executive Council to approve contracts with all New Hampshire family planning providers to ensure affordable access to birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatment for our most vulnerable populations.”
Sandi Denoncour, Executive Director of the Lovering Health Center, stated: “The Executive Council’s repeated votes against comprehensive family planning funding for our state’s health centers has taken a toll – and they threaten New Hampshire’s strong maternal health outcomes, including the lowest unintended pregnancies and teen pregnancy rates in the country. Nonprofit organizations like ours cannot continue to shoulder the vast majority of the state’s family planning care obligations without state investment.”
“This new round of funding is an opportunity to move beyond the Executive Council’s prioritization of their personal politics and failure to protect the more than 12,000 women and men who rely on our health centers for basic health care. We urge Councilors to consider the best interests of their constituents and our state’s public health infrastructure,” said Jinelle Hobson, Executive Director of Equality Health Center.
BACKGROUND:
NH Family Planning Program Impact:
- New Hampshire has the lowest unintended pregnancies and teen pregnancy rates in the country and some of the best maternal health outcomes; the New Hampshire Family Planning Program is part of the network of care that supports these positive measures.
- During an October of 2022 Executive Council discussion over family planning funding, Councilor Cinde Warmington and then DHHS Commissioner Shibinette highlighted the fragility of New Hampshire’s positive maternal/fetal health outcomes and the impact the defund votes could have. Full transcript here
Planned Parenthood of Northern New England Care Delivery:
- In Fiscal Year 2022, over 11,000 Granite Staters relied on PPNNE’s New Hampshire health centers for high-quality, affordable health care.
- In November of 2021, PPNNE was named a 2021 Guardian of Excellence Award® winner by Press Ganey, the national leader in health care consumer and workforce engagement. Press Ganey recognizes PPNNE as a top-performing health care organization, achieving the 95th percentile or above for performance in patient experience, out of more than 20,000 medical practices.
Previous PPNNE Contract Votes:
- Four times in recent years (2011, 2015, 2021, and 2022), the care provided at local Planned Parenthood health centers was jeopardized when contracts were blocked by the Executive Council and state funding was interrupted.
- Then Councilor Chris Sununu was the deciding vote to defund PPNNE in 2015.
- Contracts were consistently approved between June of 2016 and September of 2021, with bipartisan support.
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Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (PPNNE) is the largest provider of reproductive and sexual health care across the State of New Hampshire. We serve New Hampshire residents through 5 health centers in Derry, Exeter, Keene, Manchester and White River Junction, VT. Last year we saw more than 10,000 patients at these sites. PPNNE was named a 2021 and 2022 Guardian of Excellence Award® winner by Press Ganey, the national leader in health care consumer and workforce engagement. Press Ganey recognizes PPNNE as a top-performing health care organization, achieving the 95th percentile or above for performance in patient experience, out of more than 20,000 medical practices.