NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Virginia League for Planned Parenthood will give funding to Tennessee Planned Parenthood clinics after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Tennessee refused to comply with federal requirements for the Title X program.
The VLPP said it would provide around $3.9 million to the clinics through a partnership with Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi. VLPP also said it received supplemental funding from HHS through the Title X program to support patients. Converge, an organization in Mississippi, will provide another $3.9 million.
Title X is a federally-funded family-planning program. Through the program, the federal government effectively funds health programs across different states. These programs must follow certain standards such as being "client-centered, culturally and linguistically appropriate, inclusive, and trauma-informed," according to the program's website.
HHS previously said the state refused to comply with the program's requirements. In April 2023, the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration proposed using $19 million in state funds on programs that would have been covered by Title X.
The money from VLPP will be used to support access to free or low-cost birth control, contraceptive counseling, STI treatment, breast and cervical cancer screenings, pre-pregnancy care as well as other kinds of care across Tennessee.
“Since the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs, state after state continues to delay or deny access to life-saving reproductive health care. The state of Tennessee even refused to provide unbiased counseling to pregnant patients. Here in Virginia, we have seen how important Title X is to VLPP’s patients and are excited for PPTNM’s patients to receive expanded access to quality, affordable care in their communities through this $3.9 million Title X grant," said Paulette McElwain, the President of VLPP, in a statement.
Planned Parenthood held a conference about the program. In it, Ashley Coeffield, the President of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi, said that until March 31, the Tennessee Department of Health was the only Title X grantee in the state.
She said the department was found to be out of compliance with the program's regulations because it refused to certify that public health clinics they funded would provide counseling to pregnant people about their options, including counseling about their abortion treatment options.
"As of April 1 of this year, Tennessee was removed as a grantee and will no longer receive $7.1 million from the federal government annually to provide low-income people with contraceptives, STI testing and treatment, pregnancy tests and cancer screenings," Coeffield said. "We partnered with the Virginia League for Planned Parenthood to bring the money back to Tennessee."
Soon after Roe v. Wade was overturned, Tennessee lawmakers activated a "trigger law," which effectively banned providers from giving abortion treatments. Because TDH's policies on abortion did not comply with Title X's requirements, an HHS spokesperson said the department would no longer give Title X awards to the state.
McElwain said VLPP was providing around half the original amount of federal funding that Tennessee would have received. She said there is another organization in Mississippi, called Converge, that would provide the other half of the funding.
"I think it's about actually $800,000, maybe $700,000, more than what Tennessee was getting in the past. So, the state, between the two grants, is getting a little bit more money, actually — not less," said McElwain.
In April, the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration proposed the state spend $9.3 million to continue some programs previously covered by Title X. He also said that the state would no longer receive federal funds for the state's HIV surveillance and prevention programs, and said the state should spend around $9.75 million to fund those programs too. During a presentation, the department said the money would go to community partners and metro health departments.
In September, Governor Bill Lee also announced a $20 million grant program for organizations like pregnancy centers. The criteria for that program require organizations and pregnancy centers to "promote a healthy pregnancy and birth," such as by providing clothing, counseling, diapers, food, furniture, housing, health care, recovery for substance-abuse disorders or other services.
It does not include organizations offering reproductive healthcare services or family-planning services.
"Tennessee has politicized healthcare in unprecedented ways to push an extreme agenda. The same politicians who have abandoned democracy and refused to act on gun violence also want to control every aspect of sexual and reproductive health. They walked away from HIV prevention dollars, they're talking about leaving federal education dollars behind. This is a pattern," said Coeffield.