Oakland County Funds Planned Parenthood

The Oakland County Commission voted to reimburse Planned Parenthood $ 206.53 for each visit of a county resident, through August 2028:

https://www.theoaklandpress.com/2026/08/14/oakland-county-commissioners-ok-1-5-million-for-planned-parenthood-amid-heated-public-debate/

Oakland County commissioners OK $1.5 million for Planned Parenthood amid heated public debate
By Peg McNichol | August 14, 2026

Oakland County commissioners voted 11-6 to allocate $1.5 million to Planned Parenthood of Michigan for healthcare services at the Ferndale Health Center, following hours of passionate public testimony on both sides of the issue.

The fee-for-service contract, which runs through August 2028, will reimburse $206.53 per eligible visit for Oakland County residents, capped at $1.5 million over two years. The funding comes after three Planned Parenthood clinics in Warren, Livonia and Lansing closed in July due to federal funding cuts, leaving Ferndale as the only facility in Oakland County.

Paula Thornton Greer, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Michigan, told commissioners that Oakland County residents accounted for more than 6,000 health center visits last year. More than 4,100 of those visits were to the Ferndale location, she said.

“The reality facing safety net healthcare in 2026 is sobering,” Thornton Greer said. “Federal funding cuts and rising operational costs are squeezing local providers nationwide.”

Supporters of the resolution emphasized the facility provides cancer screenings, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, birth control, wellness exams and other healthcare services beyond reproductive care.

Chris McKenna, a Birmingham resident and single father, said his college-age child relies on Planned Parenthood for essential healthcare they cannot afford. He said he is looking for work and can’t afford to help her financially.

“I’m asking you, parent to parent, please approve this proposal and help ensure that my child can continue to have access to the services that they need,” McKenna said.

Opponents argued taxpayers should not fund an organization they view as politically partisan. Multiple speakers cited Planned Parenthood’s announcement to spend $47 million on the 2026 election cycle and recent donations to Michigan political candidates.

“Planned Parenthood is a private partisan political organization,” said Tamara Mitchell, president of the Frederick Douglass Freedom Alliance of Michigan. “Oakland County taxpayer dollars should not be used for Planned Parenthood’s political purposes.”

State Rep. Josh Schriver, an Oxford Republican, urged commissioners to vote no, arguing county health providers already offer the same services.

“Our county health providers, they do cancer screenings, they do STI tests,” Schriver said. “I voted for a budget that funded public health. The money is there for the cancer screenings and the STI tests.”

Several speakers listed nearly two dozen federally qualified health centers in Oakland County that provide similar services, questioning why Planned Parenthood needed taxpayer funding.

Board Chair Dave Woodward defended the proposal, saying the county health department lacks capacity to absorb thousands of additional patients if Ferndale closes.

“Our health department doesn’t have the capacity to do this,” Woodward said, noting that expanding the county’s services would cost millions but it a policy question worth exploring long term.

Other non-profits mentioned during public comment don’t have the capacity to take on 6,000 more patients visits, Woodward said, noting that Honor Health is at capacity with 500 patient visits.

The bottom line about $1.5 million for Planned Parenthood services, he said, is about “making certain that all people have access to healthcare.”

Commissioner Chris Long requested assurances that none of the funds would be used for political campaigns and asked for a full accounting of how the money is spent. Woodward said it’s against the law for Planned Parenthood to use any of the county’s money for political purposed and promised documentation showing how the dollars are used.

Commissioner Kristen Nelson, a Waterford Township Democrat, said she supports reproductive freedom and access to reproductive healthcare but she didn’t support spending $1.5 million on a contract that hadn’t yet been written.

“Every expenditure of public dollars should be carefully evaluated,” she said, asking a series of questions about the contract terms and how eligibility and reimbursement for services will be determined.

“Given the federal ban that blocked patients from using Medicaid at Planned Parenthood of Michigan centers has ended, is Medicaid required to be billed before reimbursement is requested from the county?” she said.Update

Nelson also noted that she could not “responsibly authorize $1.5 million before I have had an opportunity to review the final contract.” She added that the Planned Parenthood allocation would be finalized in a matter of weeks.

Meanwhile, she said, individual commissioners and some county residents have spent five months asking for a $100,000 allocation to support immigrant families affected by federal policies without any action by the board. The proposed spending would provide housing, food, medical and legal assistance to families.

“If urgency matters today (for Planned Parenthood) it should have mattered for the last five months (for the family assistance proposal),” she said.

Commissioner Mike Spisz, an Oxford Republican and chair of the minority caucus, asked to postpone the decision until commissioners could get contract details. That motion failed on an 11-6 vote.

The Oakland County Health Department will finalize the $1.5 million contract with Planned Parenthood.

Oakland County Republican Party Chairman Vance Patrick condemned the commissioner’s vote.

“Taxpayer funds should never be used to subsidize an abortion clinic,” said Patrick. “The Oakland County Board of Commissioners had countless opportunities to invest this money in public safety, roads, veterans, seniors, struggling families, or direct services for women and children. Instead, they chose to hand $1.5 million to Planned Parenthood.”

This is the second time Oakland County has funded Planned Parenthood in the past 10 years. The board in 2019 approved $500,000 to keep Title X family planning and health services funded after federal rules kept the organization from receiving money.