Funding Shortfalls Threaten Essential Health Services in New Hampshire
Concord, N.H. – Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, the region’s largest provider of family planning services, needs significant financial support to continue offering its lifesaving health care services across Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, said officials from the organization Thursday.
At a virtual press conference on Aug. 1, PPNNE’s interim CEO Nicole Clegg and Vice Presidents of Public Affairs Kayla Montgomery (New Hampshire) and Lisa Margulies (Maine) and Jessica Barquist (Vermont) detailed the bleak picture; the organization is facing a projected financial deficit of $8.6 million over the next three years and could be forced to change how and where it offers services.
The organization’s spokespeople cited a significantly broken health care system and endless political attacks as the main drivers. They went on to name Covid-19, inflation, insufficient reimbursement rates, and an increased demand for their free and discounted care as factors that have worsened the financial situation.
In New Hampshire, in the last four years, the New Hampshire Executive Council has rejected five state contracts for reproductive health care providers totaling $1.3 million since July 2021. Additionally, over the last few years, the legislature has pushed policies to permanently end state funding. These actions, fueled by extreme political agendas, have contributed to a tremendous strain on PPNNE’s ability to maintain operations and continue providing essential health services to our most vulnerable Granite Staters.
On Thursday’s press call, Nicole Clegg, Interim CEO, PPNNE made the consequences of these political attacks for patients’ crystal clear:
“PPNNE is a non-profit health care organization with a mission to provide free and discounted services to all who need it. We don’t turn people away.?But without us, the most vulnerable people in our communities could face catastrophic health outcomes, including unplanned pregnancies and worsening pregnancy outcomes, higher rates of sexually transmitted infections and HIV, and increased rates of cervical and breast cancers.
The patients who stand to lose the most include those who: have low incomes, people of color, young people, people without a dedicated primary care physician, uninsured or underinsured people, those living in rural or medically underserved communities, and women, LGBTQ+ people, and people from out of state seeking essential medical care from where abortion or gender-affirming care is banned.
Put simply, we are a safety net for patients who struggle the most, providing high-quality, affordable, and often free health care services.
Today we are calling on state leaders to not only address the health care system failures that we and so many other providers are facing, but to also adequately fund PPNNE so that we can continue to provide affordable family planning and abortion services – now and into the future.”
Planned Parenthood of Northern New England By the Numbers:
PPNNE currently has 15 health centers across Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, as well as a telehealth program: New Hampshire is home to four health centers in Derry, Exeter, Keene, and Manchester.
PPNNE served more than 32,000 patients, totaling more than 47,000 visits, in the past fiscal year, 56% of whom had low incomes. In the last three years, PPNNE has provided more than $14 million worth of free and discounted health care.
Over the past three years, New Hampshire’s health centers alone have served 11,223 patients for 15,717 visits. 58% of New Hampshire patients have low incomes.
In 2020-2021, PPNNE, Equality Health Center, and Lovering Health Center provided care to approximately 80 percent of patients in the New Hampshire Family Planning Program. There are no other providers in New Hampshire who specialize in sexual and reproductive health.
PPNNE is a critical component of the state’s health care safety net. For most Title X patients (60%) surveyed in 2016, the Title X–funded site where they sought family planning care was their only source of broader health care over the past year.
Family planning programs save money. The NH Family Planning Program saves the state millions in taxpayer dollars by providing patients with services to prevent or delay pregnancies and to protect against reproductive cancers and STIs. Overall, research has shown that publicly funded family planning services resulted in an estimated savings of $4.83 for every public dollar invested.
The Executive Council voted 4-1 against contracts for the reproductive health care providers in September 2021, December 2021, January 2022, July 2022, and November 2023 resulting in the loss of state funding for over two years toward their family planning services. This funding is essential for allowing these health care facilities to continue to provide preventive care like STI testing and treatment, cancer screenings, and birth control to New Hampshire’s most vulnerable populations. The five rejections resulted in a loss of $1.3 million for PPNNE alone.
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Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund (PPNHAF) is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England in New Hampshire. The Action Fund engages in educational and electoral activity, including voter education, grassroots organizing, and legislative advocacy.
Planned Parenthood of Northern New England (PPNNE) is the largest provider of reproductive and sexual health care across the State of New Hampshire. We serve New Hampshire residents through 5 health centers in Derry, Exeter, Keene, Manchester and White River Junction, VT. Last fiscal year we saw more than 11,000 patients at these sites. PPNNE was named a 2021 Guardian of Excellence Award® winner by Press Ganey, the national leader in health care consumer and workforce engagement. Press Ganey recognizes PPNNE as a top-performing health care organization, achieving the 95th percentile or above for performance in patient experience, out of more than 20,000 medical practices.
