Democrats Urge Title X Extension to Save Treasure Coast Clinics

A coalition of 128 House Democrats is urging Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to immediately extend Title X grants as the program's current funding expires March 31, warning that health clinics providing free birth control and STI testing to uninsured patients could be forced to cut hours, staff, or services within days.

The House Democratic Women's Caucus and Reproductive Freedom Caucus drafted the letter and sent it to Kennedy on Monday. It calls on the Department of Health and Human Services to issue a one-year full funding extension to all current grantees. An administrative breakdown created the urgency: HHS did not release application guidance — normally distributed in the fall — until last Friday evening, giving grantees one week to respond with budget and program data that typically takes three to four months to compile.

Title X grantees in Florida, including public health departments and nonprofit reproductive health clinics in Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River counties, stand to lose federal reimbursements for services provided to low-income and uninsured patients if funding lapses. Signed into law by President Nixon in 1970, Title X does not fund abortion care but covers contraception, cancer screenings, and STI testing, which are provided free to qualifying low-income patients.

Clare Coleman, president and CEO of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, which represents Title X grantees, called the one-week application window "laughable," warning that even a short funding gap could "lead to consequences, things we can't undo." A senior HHS official speaking on background because they were not authorized to speak publicly confirmed the Title X team currently has 10 staffers to review dozens of grant applications in seven business days.

President Trump's fiscal year 2026 budget proposed eliminating Title X funding entirely. His administration withheld 22 Title X grants for most of 2025 before reversing course following a federal lawsuit and fired the entire Title X administrative staff at HHS during last October's federal shutdown before reinstating them. The bipartisan budget Trump signed in February kept Title X funding intact.

HHS did not respond to requests for comment. A funding decision or extension announcement is expected before April 1.

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