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Health department says family-planning services unchanged despite SAVE Act language; funding shift follows Title X timeline
Summary
Knox County Health Department interim senior director Michelle Moyers told commissioners that the family-planning contract program (contraception, women's preventive services, STI treatment) remains the same financially but includes updated language reflecting state SAVE Act verification requirements; federal Title X funding was reinstated in July 2025 and there is no requirement for abortion counseling in the contract.
Michelle Moyers, interim senior director of the Knox County Health Department, briefed the commission on agenda item 26, a family-planning contract. Moyers said the contract covers contraceptive services, preventive women's health care, and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. She said the item is before the commission because the county is amending contract language to reflect recent state SAVE Act changes that touch on citizenship verification; Moyers also said the department had been verifying citizenship for family-planning clients before the state change.
Moyers explained that the financial amount in the contract is unchanged and that federal Title X funding — which the state temporarily lost in 2022 over counseling-related restrictions — had been reinstated in July 2025. When commissioners asked whether the contract now contained any requirement to counsel on abortion, Moyers said it did not.
Commissioner Fox and others asked clarifying questions about the SAVE Act reference and whether the change meant a move from state to federal funding streams; Moyers reiterated that programming and funding were the same and the amendment only clarifies compliance with current state law.
Next steps: commissioners will consider the amended contract language on the formal agenda; Moyers said similar contract amendments will appear on future consent lists where the new state-language clarification is required.
