Comptroller Stringer and State Senator Salazar to New York State: Restore Funding to Reproductive Health Care Providers in New York City

(New York, NY) – Today, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer and State Senator Julia Salazar called on Governor Andrew Cuomo to restore direct emergency Title X funding to reproductive health care providers in New York City. The Governor’s proposed Fiscal Year 2022 budget reallocates $4.6 million away from six reproductive health care providers that provide services to New York City most vulnerable populations – including people of color, lower-income, underinsured, and immigrant New Yorkers. Public Health Solutions, one impacted provider, has indicated they will be forced to close two clinics in Brooklyn if the cuts are enacted – leaving some 3,500 patients without care.

Comptroller Stringer and State Senator Salazar urged New York State to consider the ongoing repercussions of the Trump-Pence Administration’s dismantling of Title X, which destabilized many of New York City’s reproductive health care providers and still threatens their capacity to provide care for New Yorkers most in need. Comptroller Stringer and State Senator Salazar underscored that, as the City and State continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to invest in comprehensive reproductive health care services has never been more urgent–especially as reproductive health clinics are often the only trusted source of health care for lower-income communities.

The full letter is available below and here.
Dear Governor Cuomo,

As details of the Fiscal Year 2022 budget are being negotiated and finalized, I write to urge you to ensure that the Enacted Budget restores the $4.6 million in direct emergency Title X funding to reproductive health care providers in New York City. During the deepest economic recession of our lifetimes, and on the heels of four years of sustained attacks on comprehensive reproductive health care access from the federal government, we should be doing everything we can to invest in and expand health care providers’ capacity – not threaten the sustainability of existing services.

As you know, the Trump-Pence administration’s draconian dismantling of Title X, which forced many health care providers to forgo federal funding, has been destabilizing, threatening their ability to reach as many New Yorkers in need. These providers should not have wait in limbo to then compete for State dollars that were supposed to insulate them from the damage of the Trump-Pence administration. But that is exactly what you are proposing by reallocating the millions that were initially budgeted for them.

The six organizations that would be affected—The Door, William F. Ryan Community Health Center, Community Healthcare Network, Charles B. Wang Community Health Center, Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, and Public Health Solutions—provide critical health care services every day to thousands of our most vulnerable New Yorkers, including people of color, lower-income, underinsured, and immigrant New Yorkers. These are the same New Yorkers who have suffered the worst economic and public health consequences of the pandemic and many depend on these providers for a range of services and level of care they might not otherwise be able to afford or access. Unless funding is restored, services could be cut or scaled back, and the situation is particularly dire for Public Health Solutions, which has indicated they will be forced to close two clinics in Brooklyn – leaving some 3,500 patients without care.

To be clear, the Trump-Pence administration may no longer be overseeing reproductive health care policy, but providers – and the lower-income patients they serve – are still grappling with the fallout of their disastrous regime. It is incumbent on us, and within our power, to ensure that every clinic keeps its doors open.

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