Adagio Health frozen out of federal funding
On Tuesday, April 1, family-planning agencies across the country received word that their Title X funding was being withheld or frozen for “federal review” by the Trump administration.
Caught up in the tidal wave of the funding freeze was Adagio Health, a provider of rural health services across Western Pennsylvania which has an office in Butler.
Alicia Schisler, executive vice president of Adagio Health, estimates the agency could lose access to somewhere between $3.5 million and $4 million of annual funding. While the Title X funds aren’t their sole source of funding, Schisler says they do make up a significant portion of it.
“If the funding is not restored, the impact to our patient population in areas like Butler will be significant,” Schisler said. “Right now our focus is on working with the federal government to get the funding restored.”
According to a document from the Department of Health and Human Services, Adagio Health is one of the primary Title X grantees in Region 3, which covers Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia.
Schisler says roughly 40,000 Western Pennsylvanians will risk losing access to services provided by Adagio Health if the agency is not able to regain access to their funds in a timely manner. These services include family planning, gynecological care, and disease screening.
“We are helping folks detect cancer while it is still treatable. We are preventing unintended pregnancies,” Schisler said. “We are even treating some sexually transmitted infections like chlamydia, which if left untreated, can cause infertility. This is life changing, and in some cases, lifesaving.”
In addition to Butler, Adagio Health also operates in Armstrong, Beaver, Lawrence, Indiana, Westmoreland and Fayette counties. Schisler says the agency’s focus is providing services for those in rural areas who don’t have easy access to health care, and these services may be threatened as long as the funding freeze continues.
“Access to care in rural counties is already limited,” Schisler said. “Oftentimes, the folks we see may not see any other medical provider with any regularity. We're not a primary care provider, but for some folks, we’re the only regular health care provider that they see.”
“For over five decades, Adagio Health has maintained a steadfast commitment to adhering to all federal regulations and guidelines,” wrote Adagio Health president and CEO B.J. Leber in a news release. “Our long track record of compliance reflects our dedication to providing high-quality, accessible health care services to the communities we serve. We are actively engaging with the Department of Health and Human Services to address any concerns and are confident in our ability to meet all requirements.”
This article has been updated to reflect the withholding of Title X funding would not affect the Women, Infants and Children program or pregnancy care.
