After learning about Oregon’s Family Planning Expansion Project during a Sexual Wellness Advocacy Team training, one gay University student applied for the program even though he knew it wasn’t intended for him. He lied and said he was bisexual so he could get tested for sexually transmitted infections, expensive tests that can be covered by FPEP.
“In just giving that to people that have opposite gender partners, I feel that that is holding the whole gay community out,” said the student, who wished to remain anonymous because he currently receives services under FPEP. “It’s expecting us to find another means of getting tested when a lot of people can’t afford it.”
Sometimes gay students choose to lie about their sexual orientation so they can receive free reproductive health services under FPEP, a Medicaid service for low-income Oregonians that aims to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and increase access to family planning services.
Those goals, interpreted literally, exclude gay students.
However, gay students can and do receive services from FPEP because sometimes they lie and other times practitioners are willing to stretch the guidelines.
The Oregon Administrative Rules that govern FPEP state that “all services must be provided to eligible clients without regard to age, marital status, race, parity, disability or sexual orientation.”
Any student, regardless of sexual orientation, can receive family planning services if he or she is interested in “contraceptive management,” said Colleen Jones, a women’s health nurse practitioner at the University Health Center.
The FPEP rules define “contraceptive management” as “a limited scope of family planning services directly related to initiating or obtaining a contraceptive method and maintaining effective use of that method.”
A student’s sexuality often comes up during a visit with a practitioner, Jones said. In visits where the student explicitly requests contraceptive counseling, FPEP clearly covers the visit regardless of the student’s sexual orientation, she said.
But some students come seeking other services covered by FPEP, such as STI screening or free condoms, and not contraceptive counseling, Jones said. Even if the student is heterosexual, the visit isn’t covered by FPEP because its main purpose isn’t related to contraceptive management, Jones said.
The individual provider’s discretion is the main factor in deciding whether a visit qualifies for FPEP, Jones said.
“It is unfortunate that it depends on which provider you get,” Jones said. “But that’s the nature of the beast. We’re all human beings and we all have our own take on things.
“It’s not like they’re denying services. They’re just interpreting the grant literally,” Jones said. “It’s just about whether the grant can be applied and technically if there’s not a contraceptive concern, it’s not applicable.”
To qualify for FPEP eligibility, a student must be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, live in Oregon and have an income less than 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. Women must be 56 years old or younger and men have no age restriction, according to the manual.
A student’s sexual orientation is not asked or considered when deciding FPEP eligibility, said Tricia Gregg, medical billing coordinator. Nor is the student’s sexual orientation a factor in whether his or her visit is covered by FPEP, Gregg said.
“The main reason why visits are denied,” Gregg said, “is because the visit wasn’t related to contraceptive management.”
As finance and personnel administrator at the health center, Daralyn DeHaven-Murdoch is in charge of overseeing FPEP at the health center. She said confusion surrounding the program arises when a student enrolled in FPEP meets with a practitioner to discuss the reason for the visit.
A gay student can meet eligibility requirements and qualify for the services, DeHaven-Murdoch said, but if the student isn’t seeking contraceptive counseling or management during an exam, the visit isn’t covered by FPEP.
“For some, this program has provided tremendous services,”
DeHaven-Murdoch said. “But for others, it can’t because of their sexual orientation.”
The anonymous gay student said he feels lying doesn’t degrade him because he can still say he has male partners, but he doesn’t like lying. “If a student wants to get tested for AIDS, for gonorrhea, for anything like that,” he said, “they definitely should have the option to.
“It’s just kind of saying, ‘You’re gay; we don’t care about you,’” he said. “That sounds really extreme, but that’s how I feel.”
Correction:
Because of an editor’s error, Monday’s “Does FPEP leave gay patients out?” incorrectly reported the government entity that controls the Family Planning Expansion Project. FPEP is an Oregon Medicaid service.

Contact the crime, health and safety reporter at [email protected]