At Montana Family Planning, you can…

Attend an appointment by yourself, without a parent or guardian. You do not need permission from a parent or guardian to receive services. Some clinics even have designated appointment times reserved for teens, and most take walk-ins when your care cannot wait.

Talk to your healthcare team alone. We always spend some time alone with our patients, even if they bring someone with them to the visit, to discuss sensitive issues. During the rest of the visit, you can ask that a family member, friend, partner, or other clinic staff come into the exam room with you.  

Consent to your own services. That means you can be given birth control that is based on your needs, desires and is medically safe for you; you can get tested and treated for sexually transmitted infections, and you can get testing for HIV. 

Use your insurance (if you have it!) — or not. Some insurance plans may mail information about your visit to the person named as the policy holder. If you are especially concerned about your privacy, we can ensure that no bills are sent and that any necessary follow-up phone calls are only made to numbers approved by you. 

Receive services at an affordable cost based on your income. If you have no or low income, you will not have to pay for services. You can self-verify your income at the time of your appointment even if you do not have pay stubs or other documentation. 

Review your medical records and have your options for care explained to you. 

Share what we discussed with a parent, guardian, or trusted adult – and we encourage you to do so. It can be helpful to have a trusted adult you can talk to about things like dating, relationships, and pregnancy.  

Expect the information you share with our staff to remain confidential. We will not share anything without your explicit permission, except if: 

• You tell us, or we suspect, that you are being abused or neglected.

• You tell us that you want to hurt yourself or someone else. 

• You test positive for a sexually transmitted infection that must be reported to the local public health authority, for example chlamydia, gonorrhea, hepatitis, syphilis, or HIV. For all clients (not just teens!), we report positive test result to the local or state health authority as required by state law to prevent disease outbreaks. They will not disclose your test results to anyone else, though they may contact others who may have also been infected without sharing your identity.