Provider Alert! Health and Human Services Family Planning Program Overview

Date: August 3, 2021

Attention: Obstetric Care and Primary Care Providers

Providers should monitor the Texas Children’s Health Plan (TCHP) Provider Portal regularly for alerts and updates associated to the COVID-19 event.  TCHP reserves the right to update and/or change this information without prior notice due to the evolving nature of the COVID-19 event.

Call to action: Health and Human Services Family Planning Program assists with funding clinic sites across Texas to provide quality, comprehensive, low-cost and accessible family planning and reproductive healthcare services to women and men. The available services help people plan the number and spacing of their children, reduce unintended pregnancies, improve future pregnancy and birth outcomes and improve overall health. The Family Planning Program priority is to emphasize the importance of counseling family planning clients on establishing a reproductive life plan, and providing preconception counseling as a part of family planning services, as appropriate.
Preconception care seeks to identify patients with risk factors (such as overweight/obesity, diabetes, low folic acid intake, smoking or alcohol use, etc.) that must be addressed before conception in order to prevent fertility problems and reduce health problems of the mother and baby. The main goal of preconception care is to provide health promotion, counseling, screening and interventions for women of reproductive age to reduce risk factors that might affect future pregnancies.
Source: https://www.hhs.texas.gov/doing-business-hhs/provider-portals/health-services-providers/womens-health-services/family-planning

How this impacts providers: Provider resources on this program are available here:
https://www.healthytexaswomen.org/provider-resources/family-planning-program-provider-resources

Family Planning Program clinic locator: https://www.healthytexaswomen.org/find-doctor

Next steps for providers: Providers should refer their patients to this program for their family planning needs, as appropriate. Providers interested in participating in the Family Planning Program should visit https://www.hhs.texas.gov/laws-regulations/handbooks/fpp/section-14000-medicaid-provider-enrollment.

If you have any questions, please email Provider Network Management at: providerrelations@texaschildrens.org.

For access to all provider alerts, log into:
www.thecheckup.org or www.texaschildrenshealthplan.org/for-providers.