Injecting new revenue: Planned Parenthood turns to botox to fill funding gap

Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, the largest affiliate in the country, launched a new lineup of services more than six months ago in Sacramento that they say is helping fill a critical funding gap: aesthetics.

Botox, other neurotoxin injections, fillers, and spider vein and varicose vein treatment are the new offerings. It is a first-in-the-nation pivot to cosmetic care for Planned Parenthood. 

"I think it's very common for people to hear Planned Parenthood, and they think abortion. Abortion is a very important service that we provide. It's regular health care. But actually it's our other core sexual reproductive health services that make up the majority of the services we provide," Dalton said.

It's not what you would normally picture for a Planned Parenthood appointment, but Dr. Laura Dalton at Sacramento's B Street center says she presented the idea to start adding aesthetic services because they are widely in demand and Planned Parenthood can provide them in an accessible and affordable setting. 

Planned Parenthood Mar Monte serves Northern California, the Central Valley and all of Nevada. 

"There is just that question mark of what is going to happen in these next few months to the next two years," Dalton said.

Planned Parenthood does not get funding in lump sum from the federal government, but they do get Medicaid reimbursements for care they have provided to their patients, just like any other healthcare system. 

Because Planned Parenthood typically serves underserved populations and the uninsured, that makes a lot of money. 

"The federal dollars were reimbursing care like breast cancer screening, cervical cancer screening, sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment. That's where the federal dollars go," Dalton said.

The organization went without those Medicaid reimbursements from July 2025 to July 2026 due to federal budget cuts proposed by President Trump and signed into law by Congress under H.R.1, or the 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act.' 

"We had no money coming in. That was a pivotal moment. I think when organizations go through these pivotal moments, that's when there is a lot of acceptance for change," Dalton said.

The cost is competitive at just $9 a unit for Botox, compared to an industry average of $14 to $16 per unit at many other aesthetics centers.

Planned Parenthood requires all of its aesthetics providers to be fully certified and trained. 

"It really helps kind of bridge that gap to subsidize those other critical services we provide," Dalton said.

Still, some clinics had to be cut in the wake of financial uncertainty over the past year. 

"Because of H.R. 1, we did have to close five health centers and we had to sunset our primary care and prenatal programs, which was very devastating to our local communities," Dalton said.

In February, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced $90 million in emergency funding to support access to Planned Parenthood services in California. 

"These cuts were designed to attack and assault Planned Parenthood. They were not abortion cuts. They were attacks on wellness screenings. They were attacks on women's health," Newsom said in February.

Dalton says Planned Parenthood Mar Monte clinics are still dealing with the aftermath of the organization's "defunding."

"That's really challenging for an organization to live with that uncertainty, right? What's going to happen? How can we plan for that?" Dalton said.

This provision of H.R.1 expired in July, so Planned Parenthood is once again receiving medicaid reimbursements. Looking to the future, Congress could pass a similar budget restriction that would cut them out once again. 

With that in mind, Dalton says the aesthetics program is injecting a new revenue stream into a healthcare system trying to stay afloat. 

Planned Parenthood Mar Monte is also adding specialized menopause and hormone therapy care to their lineup of services.