Appeals court partially stops Biden rollback of family planning program restrictions

A divided federal appeals court has struck down some of the Biden administration's rules for Title X family planning programs, but health care providers who refer patients for abortions will still be allowed to apply for federal funds. .

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on Thursday ruled in a 2-1 decision that the Biden administration will abolish Trump-era restrictions requiring Title X grant recipients to maintain “strict economic and physical separation.” A preliminary injunction was granted to prevent it from being withdrawn. Between grant recipients and organizations providing abortions.

This restriction means that family planning clinics like Planned Parenthood must have different buildings, staff, and billing systems if they want to receive federal funding while providing abortions. These providers must pay for their individual services.

Although limited, the ruling is likely to cause confusion over the program's future in a state where health care providers for low-income patients are already stretched thin.

Judge Joan Larsen, who was appointed by President Trump, was joined in the majority by Judge Amr Thapar, who was also appointed by President Trump.

Justice Karen Nelson Moore, appointed by former President Clinton, agreed with the majority's conclusions regarding the referral rule but disagreed with the separation clause.

But the injunction only applies to Ohio, even though 11 other Republican-led states joined the lawsuit. According to the court, Ohio was the only state to show that it was harmed by the Biden administration's rule changes. The state said it lost a fifth of its Title X funding in 2022 as family planning systems resumed participation in the program. They receive some government subsidies.

The court also left in place a provision in the regulations requiring Title X projects to provide abortion referrals upon request.

Title X is the only federal program that funds family planning services. Title X funds thousands of providers across the country that provide contraception, cancer screenings, and other services to millions of low-income women and men.

Advocates say Title X disproportionately serves Black, Latinx and Indigenous patients, as well as low-income patients and patients who live in rural areas.

In 2019, the Trump administration changed the program's rules, disqualifying family planning clinics from providing abortions at the same location. It also effectively prohibited clinics that refer abortion patients from receiving federal funds.

This change devastated the program.

After the rule went into effect, about a quarter of the roughly 4,000 health care providers left the program, including affiliates of family planning systems that served about 40 percent of the program's patients.

As a result, several states were left without a Title X provider. According to the health policy research group KFF, the number of patients receiving medical care decreased from 3.9 million in 2018 to 1.5 million in 2020.

Reactions from reproductive health advocacy groups were mixed.

Planned Parenthood Action Fund called it “another attack on reproductive freedom” following the Supreme Court's decision striking down Roe v. Wade.

But Claire Coleman, president and CEO of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA), called the ruling “a victory for the Title X program.”

“While this ruling is surprisingly good news, the impact on Ohio and our future networks is unclear,” Coleman said in a statement.

“The bottom line is that today's decision keeps the Biden administration's rules in full effect and has no immediate network-wide impact. This should bring welcome relief to both patients and providers. .”