Hey Jane's year in review

To call 2022 a historic year for abortion access would be an understatement; we watched as the federal protections that have been in place since 1973 disappeared when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and the ensuing impact that this out-of-touch decision had on people seeking what is very normal, very safe health care. 

As the leading telemedicine abortion provider, we at Hey Jane understood the enormity of this moment—even before the decision came down—and have been working hard all year long to ensure that we’re providing the best possible care to our patients.

We’re proud that we’ve helped nearly 16,000 people get the care they needed in 2022—and have big plans to reach even more people in the new year. “At Hey Jane, we’ll continue to find innovative ways to get people the care they need—and the support they deserve. Here’s to 2023 being the year that stigma around common health care needs disappears,” says Kiki Freedman, Hey Jane’s co-founder and CEO.

While we have a lot of work ahead of us, here are a few things we’re proud to have accomplished this year.

‍We increased accessibility

In the face of new abortion restrictions, our number one goal for 2022 was to make care with Hey Jane as accessible as possible. 

One of the biggest barriers to care? Cost. In a study, more than half of the abortion patients surveyed said that having to raise funds delayed their care. 

In early 2022, we launched our abortion fund partner program. Through this program, we were able to formalize relationships with seven key abortion funds across the country. Since launching, more than 400 Hey Jane patients have been able to access care with the help of our incredible partners.

But we knew that wasn’t enough, which is why, this fall, we introduced our sliding-scale pricing for patients paying out of pocket. We want to ensure that anyone seeking an abortion can get the care they need—regardless of their income. And for those patients who can pay more, this sliding scale means that they’re helping support other Hey Jane patients in getting treatment that is safe, private, and effective.

We’re also thrilled to be the first telemedicine abortion clinic to accept insurance: We currently accept Aetna insurance plans, and are actively working on expanding our insurance coverage. Launching this was definitely an exciting moment for the Hey Jane team: “My most memorable moment of 2022 was when we were able to take insurance,” says Hanna Kim, Hey Jane’s Lead RN.

We continued to develop our Complete Care model

At Hey Jane, providing best-in-class medical care isn’t enough; we strive to make sure that every single patient feels completely supported throughout the process. After all, a recent study found that two-thirds of people say they wouldn’t talk to their family or closest friends about their abortions—so for many patients, our team becomes their support system.

That’s why we started 2022 with a focus on enhancing our Complete Care model, which provides medical, emotional, and social support to our patients. Up first? We launched The Lounge, the first private forum for verified abortion patients. Access to The Lounge is available to our patients before, during, and after their treatment, and through this virtual space our patients have been able to create an incredibly supportive community. There have been 1,300 posts in The Lounge since its launching, proving that no one has to feel alone when they get care with Hey Jane.

We also built out our clinical care team to include Patient Care Advocates (PCAs) who can truly be a resource for our patients. “In such a sensitive area of health care, patients need trusted buddies they can turn to that will advocate for them, and see them through their journey every step of the way,” says Courtney, one of our PCAs.

We expanded to other common-but-stigmatized health care needs

Abortion is just one of many reproductive health care needs that can unfortunately come with a side of shame—and with our ongoing commitment to providing judgment-free care, we began exploring other ways that we might be able to support people. 

In addition to offering birth control to our patients with insurance, we also launched a pregnancy and postpartum mental health care pilot program in 2022. We’re currently accepting patients who live in New York City, Long Island, or Westchester and are pregnant or have given birth in the past 18 months—if this is you or someone you know, we welcome you to schedule a free consultation.

We’ll continue to explore ways that we can apply our innovative Complete Care model to even more needs—and help even more people across the reproductive care spectrum. “I’m excited to expand into new product verticals in 2023,” says Gaby Izarra, Hey Jane’s co-founder and Senior Director of Product Marketing.

We focused on increasing awareness of safe abortion options

‍Abortion pills are safe, discreet, and effective—but only one in four adults even knows that they’re an option. That’s why spreading awareness became an important goal for us this year. 

Nearly half of abortion patients first turn to friends, family, or social media for treatment information—so we launched the Un-Whisper Network and a campus ambassador program to empower people to share information within their communities. Already we have a thousand members who have committed to getting loud about abortion; if you haven’t signed up, you can become a member here.

We also focused on utilizing social media to meet people where they’re at, and through our informative (and, yes, occasionally irreverent) content we grew to become the most-followed abortion clinic on TikTok—and the first telemedicine abortion clinic to be verified on Instagram and TikTok. (If you’re not following us yet, now’s the time!)

“It’s been incredible to see the ways that we’ve empowered people to speak out about abortion and amplify facts, stats, and information—whether it’s one of the members of the Un-Whisper Network posting on TikTok or Kendall Jenner sharing one of our posts to Instagram Stories,” says Rebecca Davis, Hey Jane’s Senior Director of Brand Marketing. 

‍We supported research efforts to improve abortion access

In 2022, we continued our partnership with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) on important research that will advance science, influence policy, and improve access to medication abortion. We’re thrilled to share that the results of this important partnership will be published in 2023.

We want to express our gratitude to our patients for trusting us, our Un-Whisper Network members for supporting us, and the Hey Jane team for showing up every day determined to provide the best care possible. 

“It’s amazing to see that kind of growth and know that we provided each patient with compassionate, high-quality, and safe care,” says Steph, Hey Jane’s Senior Clinical Quality Manager. “In 2023 we’re going to keep growing and keep iterating to make our care model the absolute best in class!” 

Here’s to another year of getting people the care they need and the support they deserve.