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Massachusetts FY 2013 BudgetSpeaker Robert DeLeo (D-Winthrop) and Budget Chairman Brian Dempsey (D-Haverhill) unveiled the proposed fiscal year 2013 House Ways and Means budget on Wednesday April 11, 2012. NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts is committed to promoting access to the full range of reproductive health services, which is made possible through important state-funded public health programs. While we are grateful that teen pregnancy prevention retained its funding in this difficult fiscal climate, we are seeking additional funds for other important services.

The war on women that we have seen on the federal level, and in other states, is alive in Massachusetts as well. Representative Jim Lyons (R-Andover) has filed several amendments to the FY13 budget that would entirely strip funding for the important programs we advocate for. There is more information about the programs this tea party backed legislator seeks to disassemble below.

Tell your legislator that funding for family planning and other preventative health line items are critical to women's reproductive health!

Family Planning (Department of Public Health Line Item 4513-1000):
The House budget recommends that family planning programs be funded at $4.56 million. These critical safety net programs provide reproductive health care to lower-income women, men, and adolescents. Services include contraceptive counseling, HIV counseling and testing, medical and gynecological examinations, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, and screenings and follow-ups for breast and cervical cancer. Funding for family planning is recognized to be a cost-effective program, saving approximately $3.75 for every $1 spent. The attacks on family planning continue to harm women’s reproductive health, and we are grateful to our legislature for realizing the overwhelming benefits of this program. We are proud to support amendment 786 by Rep. Paul Schmid (D-Westport) that would increase funding for family planning to $6.2 million. We also urge legislators to reject amendment 575, an extreme proposal by Rep. Jim Lyons (R-Andover) that would gut funding for these critical services.

Teen Pregnancy Prevention (Department of Public Health Line Item 4530-9000):
This line item is funded at nearly $2.4 million in the proposed budget, a small increase from fiscal year 2012. We applaud the House for continuing to invest in these programs to help young people avoid unintended pregnancies, which can have a devastating impact on a teenager’s family and future. The 9% reduction in the number of teen births in Massachusetts in 2008 saved the Commonwealth $16 million in costs associated with health care and public assistance programs. One in four (26%) teens who have dropped out of school – including one-third (33%) of girls who left school – cite teen parenthood as a leading reason they did so. We also urge legislators to reject amendment 584, another extreme proposal by Rep. Jim Lyons (R-Andover) that would gut funding for this effective program.

HIV/AIDS Prevention (Department of Public Health Line Item 4512-0103),:
Funded at $31.56 million, HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs provide critical services for infected Massachusetts residents. Viral hepatitis prevention receives funding from this line item as well. This funding level represents a significant cut of $500,000 from FY12. Between 2000 and 2010 Massachusetts reduced new HIV diagnoses by 54% resulting in health care cost savings of over $2 billion. Cuts to this program would be a step backward at a time when the Commonwealth is looking to curb health care costs. We are proud to support amendment 628 by Rep. Carl Sciortino (D-Medford) that would increase funding for HIV/AIDS prevention to $33.35 million.

MassHealth Operations (Line Items 4000-1602 & 4000-1604):
MassHealth is the insurance program for low-to-medium income residents of the Commonwealth. Line item 4000-1602 provides MassHealth field operations and customer service and is funded at $500,000 - a decrease of $1.5 million from the Governor’s budget. Line item 4000-1604 would provide systems improvements to implement the Affordable Care Act and payment reform and is funded at $500,000, a decrease of $2.4 million from the Governor’s budget. Together, these funds provide the operations budget for this critical program, which ensures low–income women access to reproductive the health services they need – including reproductive health care. We are proud to support amendments 729 and 732 by Rep. Kevin Aguiar (D-Fall River) to bring these line items to $2 million and $3.13 million respectively.


The budget proposed by the House takes an important first step toward completing the Commonwealth’s budget for FY13. It is important that our state representatives and state senators support funding for these programs in their budget. Tell your legislator that funding for family planning and other preventative health line items are critical to women's reproductive health!