When Central Pennsylvania families need help—feeding newborns, planning families, teaching teens about sexual health, detecting cancer or preventing sexually transmitted infections—they turn to the Family Health Council of Central Pennsylvania.
Taisha Garcia, Title X Program Director at FHCCP, knows firsthand the impact their providers can have on communities, and the important role 340B plays in making that possible.
“We act as a frontline of sexual health and education for everyone in our communities, but not everyone in our communities can afford the full cost of care. 340B helps keep our providers from being spread too thin.” said Garcia.
Currently, over 90 percent of the providers in FHCCP’s network participate in the 340B program, which Garcia says they use to buy long acting reversible contraceptives like intra-uterine devices (IUDs) at a discount. IUDs are the most effective form of birth control, but they carry high up-front costs. 340B pricing allows family planning providers to give patients a wide range of contraceptives to choose from.
“All patients, regardless of income, insurance status, and age should be able to choose a contraceptive that works best for their lifestyle and needs,” said Garcia.
But the benefit of the 340B program doesn’t end there. 340B savings have also been used to hire more clinical staff, upgrade facilities and increase outreach and education to more clients.
“Many providers in our network would be unable to provide high quality family planning to our patients without 340B. Our communities rely on this program.”