New State budget cuts $400,000 from Maine Planned Parenthood
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On May 22, 2012 At 7:59 am
Category : Gerald Weinand, Editor
Tags : About Paul LePage, Family Planning Association of Maine
Responses : 5 Comments
The supplemental budget for FY2013 signed into law last week by Gov. Paul LePage cuts $401,430 from the Family Planning Association of Maine (FPA) (see page 14 of Public Law 657). FPA is the largest provider of health cares services to low-income women in the state.
FAP receives about 28% of its revenues from the State ($1,621,481 in 2011). The cut in the FY2013 budget equals about 25% of the State outlay.
Kate Brogan, Vice President of Public Affairs for FPA, estimates that the loss of these funds will result in the closing of seven clinics in the state, which serve approximately 5,900 patients. Most of the closings will occur in rural areas. There are 46 clinics under the umbrella of FPA that in 2011 provided health care services to 27,208 Mainers, 82% of whom qualified for free or reduced fees.
The $400,000 cut has led to praise from the Christian Civic League of Maine (http://www.cclmaine.org/maine-gov-signs-budget-zapping-400k-to-abortion-biz-2/) and the Maine Right to Life Committee (http://mainerighttolife.com/News/newsalerts.aspx).
The Legislature has scheduled a veto date should Gov. LePage veto any bills – it is anticipated that he will veto at least one of the five bond packages passed by the Legislature last week. Should they be called back into session, legislators could try to restore funding at that time – though I wouldn’t count on it.
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Last I heard, the State of Maine was funding FPAM to the tune of $1.3 million just a year or two ago, so this “cut” would “reduce” State funding to $1.22 million; is that correct?
The 2011 budget (as noted in the post) was $1.6 million. So yes, the State would still be contributing $1.2 million to FPA.
In 2010 and 2009, was the FPAM funding not approximately $1.3 million both years?
So there was an increase from then to 2011/2012/2013 of approximately $300k, and now a “cut” of $400k, or a net loss from just a couple of years ago of only about $100k, correct?
No Michael, that’s incorrect. The total state funding to FPA was $1.6 million in Fiscal Years 2010 – 2012 (the current fiscal year). Prior to that, state funding was a bit higher. There has been no increase in state funding for family planning since 2001, when the Fund for a Healthy Maine was created.
The war on women comes to Maine.