Family Physicians Applaud HHS Proposals to Increase Comprehensive Care Accessibility

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, April 16, 2021

Statement attributable to:
Ada D. Stewart, MD
President
American Academy of Family Physicians

“The American Academy of Family Physicians applauds the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ proposal to reverse the 2019 Title X regulations that have resulted in significant barriers for patients to access evidence-based, affordable health care.

“The Title X National Family Planning Program is the only federal program dedicated to providing evidence-based family planning and other preventive health services to low-income Americans. However, the provisions put in place in 2019, which the AAFP opposed, have limited patients’ access to preventive services, exacerbated inequities, and interfered with the patient-physician relationship by dictating how family physicians and other clinicians can counsel patients.

“The AAFP has long supported and advocated for equal access to affordable and high quality health care for all. Unfortunately, the 2019 changes to Title X resulted in hundreds of thousands of patients losing access to care and caused about one quarter of all Title X family planning clinics to withdraw their participation from the program.

“The proposed regulations would restore the Title X program, advance health equity, and facilitate access to comprehensive, patient-centered health care. We urge the administration to finalize these proposals, and we look forward to working with them to build on this policy to ensure all patients have access to primary and preventive care.”

Editor's Note: To arrange an interview with Dr. Stewart, contact Janelle Davis, (913) 912-0377, or jdavis@aafp.org.

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