Final Title X Regulation Changes, Implications and What’s Ahead

On Monday, March 4, 2019, the Trump Administration published final regulations for the federal Title X family planning program that could dramatically reshape the safety-net program.  Some of the major changes in the new regulations focus on disqualifying providers who offer abortion services from the Title X program and banning participating providers from referring patients to others who can provide abortions. Clinics that have been offering women reproductive health care with the support of Title X funds may now be faced with the need to either lay off staff, reduce services or hours, or in some cases, close their doors.  As a result, these regulations will leave more women with fewer options to obtain time-sensitive, affordable, and high quality family planning care for their reproductive health. A new KFF issue brief reviews the final provisions highlighting changes from current rules and the implications for low-income people and the providers who serve them. The brief also provides information on historical and current legal challenges to Title X regulations.  Over 20 states and several other organizations have filed federal court motions to block the final regulations from going into effect in the coming months. In addition to the brief, KFF’s Alina Salganicoff, Vice President and Director of Women’s Health Policy, answered three questions about the final regulations recently in the new feature Ask KFF.