Planned Parenthood of Northern New England urges modest state investments to shore up family planning services

Jessica Barquist, vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, told a Vermont budget committee on Feb. 19 that the affiliate faces “a funding gap of more than $8,600,000 over the next 3 years” and asked the state for targeted, modest steps to keep health centers open.

Barquist said Planned Parenthood of Northern New England served nearly 16,000 patients and provided more than 23,000 visits across seven centers and telehealth last year; 54 percent of patients are low income. “Last year, we provided $1,300,000 in free and low-cost care, which is a significant increase from $802,000 the year before,” she said.

The request to the committee centered on three items: a state-funded increase to Medicaid reimbursement for core family-planning codes, development of a state family-planning program to replace…