Patient Jamie Kabler from Palm Springs, CA receives a Botox injection by UCLA Cosmetic Surgeon in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, Calif. - A Bay Area-based organization that has long offered sexual and reproductive health care is expanding its business model and now offering Botox injections and other new services.
Planned Parenthood Mar Monte (PPMM), headquartered in San Jose, is affiliated with, but independent from the nationally-run Planned Parenthood organization. Last month, PPMM announced aesthetic neurotoxin injections and wellness IV hydration treatment packages are now available to patients as part of efforts to stay financially sound amid widening federal funding cuts.
The backstory:
The health network said it adopted this new business model after more than 10 years of seeking ways to close the financial gap due to Medicaid reimbursements no longer being covered and other funding rollbacks.
"Obviously the federal government making PPMM a prohibited entity (often referred to as the defunding of Planned Parenthood) made obtaining Medicaid reimbursement for non-abortion health care services we provide impossible," Chief of Staff & Head of Strategic Communications Andrew Adams told KTVU in an email correspondence.
Adams said the new business model enhances and expands its operations and is aligned with its goal to provide "high-quality and judgment-free care."
New services at limited clinics
Botox is currently only being offered at PPMM’s Sacramento B. Street Health Center. Both that clinic and the San Jose Central Health Center on The Alameda are making IV hydration treatments available to patients.
Planned Parenthood Mar Monte said it has plans to roll out the new services soon at many of its other clinics.
Dig deeper:
The network has 30 locations in parts of California and all of Nevada.
There are eight clinics here in the Bay Area: Oakland, Hayward, Redwood City, Mountain View, and four in San Jose.
The organization is the largest Planned Parenthood affiliate in the U.S., based on number of patients, with more than 300,000 people visiting its clinics every year, PPMM said.
Patients' needs evolving
PPMM acknowledged that the needs of its patients are evolving.
"We believe in centering the needs and experiences of our patients," Adams said. "While we know that our traditional sexual and reproductive health care services are lifesaving, we also know that how they receive care and what care is available to them can be life-changing."
The Botox and IV hydration treatments build on top of other new offerings that PPMM has rolled out in recent months, including enhanced perimenopause care, the organization said.
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'Significantly' cheaper
The cost of the Botox treatment is $9 a vial, "significantly less" than what medical spas and other aesthetic injection providers charge, Adams said.
Costs at those providers can range from around $12 to $25.
Typical facial treatments use 40 to 60 units per session. So the difference could add up to being cheaper by hundreds of dollars.
Free consultation :
For those interested in getting Botox services, PPMM encouraged them to first make an appointment for a free consultation.
"During the consult, the patient and provider can discuss the patient's needs and then determine a treatment plan. If the patient wants to proceed, they can do so knowing the full cost," Adams explained.
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On its website, the organization presented the new offerings as a way to "Feel good. Look good. Do good."
For PPMM, the organization said it’s a way to not only achieve financial stability, but it also creates a pathway to continue in its mission to provide accessible, affordable care.
"The new services we’re offering perfectly complement our existing sexual and reproductive health care," Adams said. "Adding these services will increase our capacity to serve all our patients with our core sexual and reproductive health care."
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