Planned Parenthood expanded access to health care in Alaska on Monday through a virtual center offering telehealth appointments.

Patients can enter their zip code and select telehealth on the virtual health center’s search page. The center’s goal is to connect patients facing geographic barriers, said Rebecca Gibron, CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai‘i, Alaska, Indiana and Kentucky.

It comes after the December 2024 closure of Juneau’s clinic, which left Fairbanks and Anchorage as the only in-person options.

“We made a commitment when we had to close our bricks-and-mortar health center that we were going to continue investing in advancing telehealth services,” Gibron said.

With Alaska’s vast geography and other barriers, telehealth will provide reproductive care to patients who already trust Planned Parenthood, she said.

Outside of the challenges to Alaska, Gibron said telehealth services are increasingly the preferred option for many patients because they are more convenient than taking time off work or finding childcare. Appointments are same-day availability every Tuesday, but more options could be added as Planned Parenthood assesses the demand.

The virtual health center also went live for Hawaii and Idaho on Monday. A Twin Falls, Idaho health center was permanently closed to in-person appointments the same month as the Juneau clinic shut down. Currently, Planned Parenthood has 31 virtual health centers operating across 24 states.

The online services include access to birth control, emergency contraception, pregnancy testing and planning, STD testing and treatment, HIV services, counseling for patients who may have sexual and reproductive health care concerns, and gender-affirming care.

Medication can be sent through mail or to a local pharmacy for pickup. If there is a service that Planned Parenthood is unable to provide virtually, a patient will be referred to a local health center.

It is illegal in the state of Alaska for abortion medication to be sent through the mail following a virtual consultation. Someone seeking an abortion would have to visit a brick-and-mortar clinic. The Anchorage clinic is the closest to Juneau. A medication abortion is available through telehealth consultation only in Washington and Hawaii, according to Planned Parenthood.

Gibron said “there is a lot of fear and anxiety around birth control, around abortion care, around gender-affirming health care access,” another reason to expand telehealth services.

The decision to close Juneau’s clinic was partially due to “targeted attacks” on the organization following the aftermath of the Dobbs decision, according to a letter about the closure sent to the Juneau Pro-Choice Coalition on Dec. 13, 2024. A list of local resources has been posted on the JPCC website.

While Planned Parenthood has offered telehealth in Alaska for some time, Gibron said the health center launched this week allows broader services and an easier way to schedule appointments.

“One of the biggest things is we are now in a position where we can accept Medicaid and third-party insurance through our virtual health center, and previously, we were cash only as we were continuing to build out the infrastructure,” she said.

A day after the virtual health center was launched, the Republican-led U.S. Congress narrowly passed a budget proposal slashing Medicaid for about 100,000 Alaskans.

“Planned Parenthood and other safety net providers are integral to Alaska’s health care ecosystem, a state that already struggles with a vast and challenging geography and health care provider shortage,” Rose O’hara-Jolley, Alaska State Director of PP Alliance Advocates, said. “Cuts to Medicaid will decimate sexual and reproductive health care, disproportionately harming women, Black, Indigenous, and people of color due to long-standing systemic disparities. This attack on Medicaid would directly affect nearly 100,000 Alaskans — but the ripple effects would reach far beyond, destabilizing the entire health care ecosystem.”

Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz.garrett@juneauempire.com or (907) 723-9356.