The number of clients provided with basic health care services with federal pass-through funds dropped by almost 70,000 between 2005 and 2007 – a direct result of a new funding scheme created by state Sen. Robert Deuell’s budget Rider 56. The client numbers have remained steady in the years since the swift drop, but the totals still represent only a fraction of the women in need of these services.

Number of Family-Planning Clients Served

By funding source, per state fiscal year

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Title V 73,283 57,956 51,947 43,058 49,623 49,190
Title X 21,169 25,475 25,773 25,862 19,327 19,333
Title XX 231,654 201,101 178,655 186,474 190,799 189,372
Total Clients 326,106 *284,532 256,375 255,394 259,749 257,895

*Implementation of Rider 56 ($10 million FQHC set-aside) resulted in a decrease of 41,574 clients served in its first year.

Federal Dollars Awarded, Spent, and Unused

Fiscal Year Total Award Total Spent Total Unused
2006 $34,396,171 $31,887,749 $2,508,422
2007 49,404,459 44,528,562 4,875,897
2008 45,780,638 41,557,698 4,222,940
2009 45,952,641 42,155,844 3,796,797
2010 50,401,235 47,625,977 2,775,258
TOTAL UNUSED $18,179,314

Under the funding method that took effect in 2006, federal dollars designated for family-planning health care services must first go to federally qualified health centers before going to more traditional family-planning providers. But because the FQHCs have never been able to reabsorb the clients that were initially dropped from services, much of the funding allocated to them has gone unused. Each year since Rider 56 took effect, FQHCs have had to return money to the state, which reallocates as much as it can back to family-planning providers; money unspent at the end of the biennium may be returned to Washington.

Compiled by Fran Hagerty, Women’s Health and Family Planning Association of Texas

Title V: Maternal & Child Health Services/Social Security Act; Title X: Public Health Services Act; Title XX: Social Services Block Grant

This article appears in April 22 • 2011.

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