FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 1, 2025
Contact:
Leslie Klote, Communications Manager
LKlote@mfhc.org | (573) 694-4898
JEFFERSON CITY (MO) – Today marks the beginning of a new Title X budget period, but in an unprecedented move, Missouri Family Health Council, Inc. (MFHC) is among multiple grantees to have Title X funding withheld by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“For decades, MFHC has been proud to lead the Title X family planning program, supporting a network delivering high-quality, affordable healthcare to tens of thousands of Missourians and Oklahomans every day,” said Michelle Trupiano, MFHC Executive Director. “Withholding these critical funds, even temporarily, threatens the essential sexual and reproductive healthcare communities depend on.”
Without nearly $8.5 million in Title X funding for Missouri and Oklahoma, patients will be forced into impossible situations – losing access to birth control, cancer screenings, and essential care, with devastating, life-altering consequences.
“Title X is a lifeline for communities in southwest Missouri, providing family planning services to individuals and families who might not otherwise have access to affordable healthcare,” said Jennifer Olson, Executive Director of Ozarks Area Community Action Corporation (OACAC) in Springfield. “Funding delays affect our patients the most, people who already face significant systemic barriers to accessing needed healthcare and who have the most to lose.”
“Disruptions in funding cause confusion for patients and providers alike,” Zachary Moser, Administrator at Dent County Health Center in Salem, added. “Patients face confusion about where and how to access care, while providers struggle to maintain services, staffing, and continuity, ultimately putting essential healthcare at risk.”
“We will respond to HHS’ request for additional information and hope for a swift resolution,” Trupiano said. “However, any funding delays will be dire for the healthcare safety-net, leading to shuttered clinic doors, untreated illnesses, and communities left with grave outcomes. Family planning services are still available in Missouri and Oklahoma as health centers evaluate options based on this new funding reality.”
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About Title X: For more than 50 years, the federal Title X family planning program has provided critical preventive healthcare for millions, funding a nationwide network of health centers that provide high-quality reproductive and sexual healthcare to all. This healthcare access includes contraception, cancer screenings, STI testing and treatment, and other preventive services, with priority given to people with low incomes or no other options for care. The Title X program’s mission is to help people both achieve and prevent pregnancy. Millions rely on services available through Title X each year.
MFHC’s Title X program: Missouri Family Health Council, Inc. has led the federal Title X family planning program in Missouri since 1981 and in Oklahoma since 2023, supporting a network of 55 total clinics (52 in MO and 3 in OK) that delivered healthcare to 43,926 individuals in 2024. MFHC’s diverse health center network includes community action agencies, health departments, federally-qualified health centers (FQHCs), hospital-based clinics, and standalone family planning clinics, including two Planned Parenthood affiliates.
About Missouri Family Health Council: Our mission is to make sexual and reproductive healthcare accessible to all people – regardless of income, geography, identity, or circumstances. We’re increasing access through our three main programs: Title X (Missouri & Oklahoma), The Right Time initiative, and the Free EC project. We also strengthen the healthcare safety net by reducing barriers to care, and advocate for statewide policies that expand access to affordable sexual and reproductive care. Join us at MFHC.org.
