After three months of funding freezes, Missouri again has access to federal Title X funding, which funds reproductive healthcare services.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had withheld an $8.5 million grant from the Missouri Family Health Council, the state’s sole grantee, due to DEI language found in some of the council’s job descriptions. However, MFHC officials complied with HHS demands shortly after the funding freeze.
MFHC Executive Director Michelle Trupiano said she’s worried about the threats of Medicaid cuts from President Trump’s massive tax and spending bill currently before Congress.
“The instability of programs like Title X only further compounds the harms of all the attacks that are happening across communities,” Trupiano said.
Zach Moser runs the Dent County Health Center — a clinic that depends on Title X money. He and other Dent County health professionals formed a coalition last week and sent a joint letter to Senator Josh Hawley (R) and Senator Eric Schmitt (R) in opposition to Medicaid cuts from the "One Big Beautiful Bill."
"We do try to stay out of political issues," Moser said. "But this, to us, is not a political issue. This is just a fact of survival for rural Americans who rely on Medicaid."
About a quarter of Missourians depend on Medicaid. If the bill passes, Missouri would lose $1.5 billion, "jeopardizing Medicaid and forcing steep cuts in education, infrastructure, and healthcare," according to the letter written by the Coalition of Dent County Healthcare Providers.
Both Moser and Trupiano said that while the threats of Medicaid cuts persist, they will try to continue offering patients accessible healthcare.
