A change in local women’s healthcare services could be coming to St. Clair County.
County Medical Director Dr. Remington Nevin is officially recommending that the health department discontinue its federally funded Title X contraceptive services.
Title X is a federal grant first enacted in 1970 that provides confidential family planning and preventive health services on a sliding-fee scale, typically leaving low-income patients paying nothing out of pocket.
In a memorandum dated June 10, Dr. Nevin argued the program is no longer cost-effective or sustainable. He pointed to the availability of daily oral and emergency contraceptives over the counter. He also noted that providing these specific family planning services is not a required core function of a local health department under Michigan law.
Nevin’s recommendation suggests transitioning procedural contraceptive care to outside providers, naming McLaren Port Huron’s family medicine residency program or Community First Health Centers, which recently took over operations at two area school-based health centers.
If approved, the county would begin phasing out its on-site Title X services, with a final wrap-up date set for September 30.
The St. Clair County Advisory Board of Health is scheduled to take up the proposal during its monthly meeting this Wednesday morning beginning at 9:00 a.m. in the Commissioners Room of the County Administration Building.
