Planned Parenthood will close six regional clinics
Planned Parenthood says it will close clinics in Longmont, Parker and four others in the region, citing a tough financial landscape in the reproductive health care field due to effects of the Affordable Care Act.
“We supported (the ACA) because we love the idea of more people having health insurance and increasing access to the critical services that they need, but a lot of our patients were self-pay,” said Whitney Phillips, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains.
“They would come in and get a pap smear and pay out of pocket,” Phillips said. “Under the ACA, a lot of patients were given the opportunity to be on Medicaid. Again, that’s wonderful, but it meant that rather than bill them directly, we had to bill Medicaid. And Medicaid reimburses at a very low rate.”
Phillips said this changed how Planned Parenthood does business and changed the way the organization was able to get reimbursements from insurance companies.
The Longmont health center will close in August. Planned Parenthood centers in Parker, Casper, Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, N.M., and Farmington, N.M., will also close.
The Boulder Planned Parenthood will remain open, and Planned Parenthood will add hours and staff there to accommodate more patients. The four staff members at the Longmont health clinic will be offered positions within other Planned Parenthood locations. If they choose, they can also take a severance package, Phillips said.
Phillips said the decisions were tough to make, but between the Boulder Planned Parenthood and the Boulder Valley Women’s Health Center in Longmont, they are confident that patients will be able to access all the services they need.
“We did an incredibly long evaluation and took a lot of care to look at every single point of the process and do what’s best for patients so we can serve the most amount of people in the best way possible,” Phillips said. “It’s sad and a little disappointing to close down health centers, but we believe that in the long term, it’s the best option so we can serve patients for another 100 years.”
Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains was founded in 1916.
“We’ve contracted and expanded, contracted and expanded in that time, and this is just another part of that,” Phillips said.
Planned Parenthood is a nonprofit organization that relies on grants, donations, patient payments and insurance reimbursements to operate. The health centers provide sex education and preventive care, such as cancer screenings and birth control.
Phillips said the Longmont health center does not provide abortion services, but does provide referrals. The Boulder center provides abortion services.