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“Experts focus on accessibility, education on contraception in post-Roe America”
“There are some serious concerns about how far the Legislature in Texas and other states will go to redefine contraceptive methods as abortifacients,” Geoffray said. “The Dobbs decision makes it very disconcerting that a state legislature can define something as abortion or define life as they see fit, and regulate it.”
Geoffray said she hopes federal counterparts will work to clarify exactly what qualifies as contraception versus an abortion, and continue funding access to contraception drugs and devices.
“Low-income Texans struggle to find new doctors as state officials boot Planned Parenthood off Medicaid”
Advocates are skeptical other health care providers will be able to take on thousands of new patients during a pandemic that has already driven up demand for affordable health care. Federally funded Title X clinics, that provide reproductive health care to low-income people, have been “underfunded for years and, without additional resources, are not in a position to suddenly absorb thousands of clients,” said Kami Geoffray, CEO of Every Body Texas.
“After Sarah Davis' Election Defeat, Texas Reproductive Health Advocates Worry About Losing a Powerful Republican Ally”
“We are very well aware of the economic challenges that we are going to face in developing a budget based on our revenue projections, but we also are really, really mindful that the rates of unemployed and uninsured Texans are rising,” says Kami Geoffray, head of Every Body Texas, which administers the Title X grant statewide. “So a key issue heading into session is ensuring that there is adequate funding for safety net health care services. And by adequate, we mean more, not less.”
“Texas proposes fewer budget cuts to women’s programs but would freeze hiring eligibility workers”
“It’s really critical that, at bare minimum, we maintain the funding if not increase it” for needy Texans, Geoffray said.“We understand that the state is certainly going to be experiencing revenue challenges. But there are also revenue solutions to ensure that safety-net services for Texans are fully funded.”
“Texas officials walk back $15 million proposed cuts to women’s and children's health services”
Kami Geoffray, CEO of Every Body Texas, said she was "heartened" by the revised plan but called for more transparency.
"Confusion over funding availability threatens the stability of the family planning safety net... we urge HHSC to engage stakeholders early and often to ensure that the real-world impacts of policy and funding decisions are incorporated into agency analysis," said Geoffray, whose organization supports women’s health providers that contract with the state.
“Women's health care cuts proposed in the Texas' state budget”
"We’re seeing budget cuts at a time when we know that the services are most in need it really created some concern among our provider network," said Kami Geoffray.
Staffing, supplies, outreach and education are all on the potential chopping block. CEO of Every Body Texas Kami Geoffray says she's advocating for the state to dig deep and the find funding.
“Texas officials want to cut funding for women's health services while preserving an anti-abortion program”
Kami Geoffray, CEO of Every Body Texas, said the programs identified for cuts “have been shown to improve health outcomes — including maternal health outcomes, which have been a challenge in our state.”
“It’s just really concerning that this is the area that is first to be targeted when the state is looking for cost savings because the reality is it’s going to be short-term cost savings,” said Geoffray, whose organization supports women’s health providers that contract with the state.
“Confidential access to contraception for Texas teens has declined, according to a new study”
Kami Geoffray, the chief executive officer of the association, said the association saw many of the difficulties described in the study when the it began administering the Title X grants.
“We found, much like the study, that the care that was being offered was not as efficient, not as timely,” she said. “We worked really hard to not only provide funding, which we do, but also to provide training and technical assistance to improve the quality of care and ensure the care was client-centered.”
After the association took over, the number of teens served doubled from 15,000 in fiscal 2014 to 29,000 in fiscal 2018, Geoffray said.
“As Planned Parenthood Gets Sidelined In Texas, Religious Group Steps In To Provide Contraception”
“If we are funding unqualified health care providers in Texas, we are taking money away from qualified comprehensive health care providers.”
“Opinion: A waste of federal family-planning funds”
Letter to the Editor cautioning of the dangers of redirecting federal family planning funding to unqualified providers like Christian pregnancy centers and of reducing support for comprehensive sexual and reproductive health providers based on my experience as a reproductive health advocate in Texas.
“Legal battles over abortion heat up in the USA”
After the Texas legislature cut state family planning funds by two thirds in 2011, Geoffray said some clinics reduced staff and some closed. “We saw unintended pregnancies increasing, maintenance of contraceptive methods decreasing, increased use of less effective contraceptive methods, and increases in Medicaid births, which are obviously a strain on federal and state funding”, she said.
“‘Contraception Deserts’ Likely To Widen Under New Trump Administration Policy”
Lack of access worries Kami Geoffray, CEO of the Women’s Health and Family Planning Association of Texas, the nonprofit group that has coordinated the state’s application for Title X funds.
If the Trump administration’s overhaul of Title X succeeds, Geoffray said, it will undermine the goal of the program that the federal government has operated since the 1970s.
“We know that every dollar we spend on Title X saves $7 across other government programs, including Medicaid,” said Geoffray. “We avert Medicaid births very frequently by [getting contraception for] clients and preventing unplanned pregnancies.”
“How the next Supreme Court justice could affect your access to birth control”
Kami Geoffray says if the Trump administration's overhaul of Title X succeeds, it will undermine the goal of the program that the federal government has operated since the 1970s.
“We know that every dollar we spend on Title X saves $7 across other government programs, including Medicaid. We avert Medicaid births very frequently by contracepting clients and preventing unplanned pregnancy.”
“Title X Money in the Right Hands”
"WHFPT has supported its network of providers to reopen previously closed clinics, open new clinics, and expand capacity within existing clinics," says Geoffray. "We look forward to continuing our support of Title X providers that offer critical family planning services to nearly 200,000 women, men, and adolescents throughout Texas annually."
“Crisis Pregnancy Centers: Money for Nothing”
"These rules signal how the administration is seeking to reshape policies related to women's health," says Kami Geoffray of the Women's Health and Family Planning Association of Texas, which currently administers the Title X funds. "They want the network to add more entities that have not historically participated in Title X."
“What the Domestic Gag Rule Means for Title X Providers”
Kami Geoffray, CEO of the Women’s Health and Family Planning Association of Texas (WHFPT), knows all too well what barriers to care can mean for women. "Our clients are low-income, deal with transportation issues, have unstable housing. Many don’t have access to the internet in their home, and many have language barriers. And now you have added one more thing [to block their care]. That does a disservice to the quality of care that our providers strive to offer."
“Abortion Gag Rule Could Jeopardize Local Care”
WHFPT head Kami Geoffray said "the gag rule alone is scary enough but the entire policy change is filled with a wider attempt to marginalize contraception, emphasize abstinence-only education, and redefine family planning."
“‘More Than a Gag Rule’”
“The communities that we serve are often low-income with few resources, childcare barriers, no paid leave. Many of them don’t have access to internet in their homes. They may be living in poverty. They may not have access to safe and stable housing. They may not have access to transportation. And so when we expect these clients to have to take that burden on themselves, to be given information that is not complete or direct or could potentially be misleading, we do a disservice to our client.”
“Texas reproductive rights groups worried about Trump proposal to strip funding from clinics affiliated with abortion providers”
“I’m scared about everything about Title X right now,” Geoffray said. “I’m scared access will be lost in the state, I’m scared women’s health has become so politicized we don’t see the patients we are serving, we don’t understand the real world impacts of what continuously attacking these funding streams means for people and their ability to access health care.”
“What Could Happen if Trump Cuts Family Planning Funds from Planned Parenthood? Look at Texas.”
“It takes a day to close a clinic, it takes years to reopen one,” Kami Geoffray, who runs the non-profit coalition thatoversees Title X funds in Texas told me last winter. “I worry every day about the family planning safety net here in Texas. … If there’s another hit to this network, I don’t know how we’d bring it back.”
“Trump's Title X Abortion Funding Ban Could Change Everything For Women In America”
Kami Geoffray of the Women's Health and Family Planning Association of Texas told FiveThirtyEight that PlannedParenthood often offers more birth control options than other places, as well as shorter wait times and better hours. "Other clinics don't necessarily have night or weekend hours," she said.
“Health Care Providers Say Title X Change Would Restrict Access To Family Planning Services”
Texas currently has the highest number of teen parents of any other state and has the fifth-highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation. Kami Geoffray says Title X is particularly important in Texas because the state prohibits teens from getting contraception without parental consent.
“Texas AG Ken Paxton is Very Angry About Women’s Health Programs He Doesn’t Seem to Understand”
“I worry every day about the family planning safety net here in Texas, because it’s taken us a really long time to even start to get back to where we were,” said Kami Geoffray, who runs WHFPT. “If there’s another hit to this network, I don’t know how we’d bring it back.”
“Months Late, Trump Administration Changes Family Planning Program's Priorities”
In Texas, where Title X grants are set to expire March 31, the funding delay and uncertainty is already starting to have an impact. Some clinics were planning to stock less of the more expensive — but also more effective — forms of contraceptives, like IUDs, says Kami Geoffray, CEO of the Women’s Health and Family Planning Association of Texas, which receives Title X grants and contracts with 100 providers across the state -- ranging from county health departments to rural clinics.
“Title X grantees on edge over delayed funding announcement”
In Texas, 28 women's health providers and a total of 100 clinics wait to see if they will get their Title X family planning grant money after it expires March 31, and a recent email from the Trump administration has raised more questions than it has answered their concerns. "We are doing a lot of contingency planning and hoping to hear more before then, but we will have to have plans in place for how to move forward," Kami Geoffray said.
“Despite Demand, Few Texas Women on Medicaid Are Able to Access IUDs”
“With the option to offer reimbursement, the hope was that it would trigger some follow-up on the hospitals' side to start investigating how they could do this,” said Kami Geoffray, CEO of WHFPT.
Turns out, it hasn't been easy.
Despite the fact that the framework to offer this contraception to low-income women has been in place since January 2016, Geoffray and other experts say only a small handful of hospitals in the state have actually taken advantage of it.
“What Happens When Texas Blocks Planned Parenthood? Abortions Rise.”
"Since implementation of exclusion policies and tiered funding began in 2011, several studies have documented disruptions to the family planning provider network and resulting negative health outcomes for Texas women and families — from an increase in Medicaid births to maternal mortality — further highlighting the critical role Planned Parenthood plays in the family planning safety net."
“Title X Changes 'Shouldn't Affect Texas Women's Health Clinics'”
“This money comes directly from the federal government to us. So it does not pass through the state in any way. So today, nothing — nothing — will happen with how we are administering these funds. We are able to continue funding quality family planning services throughout Texas with our network.”
“Women's health providers say Trump-backed measure won't affect Texas — yet”
“We saw people lose care, not connect to another provider and essentially we saw an increase in unplanned pregnancy and Medicaid births,” Geoffray said of the last big round of cuts. “When you lose those specialty care providers, clients may find another provider or they may not ... We’ve seen this narrative play out already in our state, and that’s what we could see again.”
“How Defunding Planned Parenthood Could Affect Health Care'”
“Other clinics don’t necessarily have night or weekend hours,” said Kami Geoffray, CEO of Women’s Health and Family Planning Association of Texas, a network of family planning providers. At Planned Parenthood, “you can pick up your birth control pills at the counter and get a same-day IUD insertion.”