Briefly - Policy Brief: Preventing Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy Makes Good Economic Sense
Teen and unplanned pregnancy costs taxpayers billions of dollars every year, and contributes to a cycle of poor education and other outcomes that affect the long-term strength of our workforce. This brief summarizes key research on the economic arguments for why cutting funding for evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs or Title X, or weakening Medicaid family planning in any way would be penny wise and pound foolish.
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The National Campaign Comments on Proposed Rule for Assuring Access to Covered Medicaid Services
On July 5, 2011, The National Campaign submitted comments on a proposed rule from HHS regarding methods for assuring access to covered Medicaid services. Our comments stressed the important of ensuring that state Medicaid programs continue to monitor the availability and utilization of family planning services, particularly among adolescent populations.
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Briefly - Policy Brief: The Benefits of Expanding Medicaid Family Planning
Expanding access to Medicaid family planning services reduces unplanned pregnancy and produces substantial cost savings for state and federal budgets. States should expand Medicaid family planning through either a waiver or state plan amendment. Both options yield significant cost savings and ensure that Medicaid family planning services are more widely available to the women and men who need them.
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New England Journal of Medicine Says Contraception Should Be Covered At No Cost
The New England Journal of Medicine released a report recommending the inclusion of prescription birth control among the women’s preventive services that will be covered with no co-pays for patients. The report stated "Contraception is the quintessential preventive care service.”
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CMS Guidance on the Medicaid Family Planning State Option Provision
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published official guidance on the Medicaid family planning state option provision included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("Affordable Care Act"). CMS published the guidance in the form of a State Health Officials (SHO) letter dated July 2, 2010.
In its letter, CMS details how states have the option to offer eligibility for family planning to individuals who are otherwise ineligible, including parents with incomes above state-set eligibility levels and non-disabled adults not caring for children. To do so, states may amend their state Medicaid plans without having to seek a waiver under Sec. 1115 of the Medicaid statute. States may claim federal reimbursement for “family planning services” at the 90% matching rate. The letter also clarifies that states may use presumptive eligibility in their programs and that citizenship documentation is not required for presumptive eligibility.
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The National Campaign Statement on Signing of H.R. 3590 and Passage of H.R. 4872
On March 25, 2010, Congress passed H.R. 4872, the Reconciliation Act of 2010. The passage of this budget reconciliation package includes important previously agreed upon modifications to the Senate health reform legislation (H.R. 3590 – the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) which was passed earlier in the week. The National Campaign released the following statement on the signing of H.R. 3590 and the passage of H.R. 4872.
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Summary of Provisions Related to Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy in H.R. 3590: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010. This landmark health reform legislation, which will be phased in over the next four years, includes numerous provisions to improve the nation’s health care system, including several related to teen and unplanned pregnancy. The following chart provides a brief synopsis of the provisions that are related to these critical social issues.
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Thank you letter to Sen. Stabenow
National Campaign CEO Sarah Brown wrote a letter to Senator Stabenow commending her for her leadership on including an amendment to create a new Medicaid Family Planning State Plan Option in the Senate Finance Committee’s health reform bill. The amendment would allow states to expand eligibility for family planning services under Medicaid up to its level for pregnancy-related care. Download the letter
National Campaign Statement in Support of the Ryan DeLauro Bill
The National Campaign has long believed that reducing conflict and respecting a range of deeply held opinions is essential to making progress on the important issue of reducing both teen and unintended/unplanned pregnancy. The Preventing Unintended Pregnancies, Reducing the Need for Abortion and Supporting Parents Act, authored by Representatives Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Tim Ryan (D-OH), is an important example of this reasonable, inclusive perspective.
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Read the full Bill here
Read a 1-page summary of the Bill here
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Read statements of support for the Bill here
Briefly - Policy Brief: Strengthening Medicaid Family Planning
Given the important role that Medicaid plays in providing access to family planning services, especially for low-income individuals, several steps should be taken to ensure that these services are widely available to the women, men, and teens who need them by reducing barriers to states who are trying to expand access and reducing barriers to individuals seeking to apply for these critical services.
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Briefly - Policy Brief: Strengthening America’s Family Planning Safety Net in the Context of Health Reform
Reducing the stubbornly high levels of unplanned pregnancy in the U.S. will require both personal responsibility on the part of individuals as well as responsible policies that give women and men the information and services they need to plan pregnancy. This brief explores such ideas in greater detail.
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Fast Facts: The Direct Medical Costs of Unplanned Pregnancy and Cost Effectiveness
of Preventing Unplanned Pregnancy
In addition to being associated with serious consequences for parents and their children, unplanned pregnancies also lead
to substantial direct medical costs due to the births, abortions,
and miscarriages that result from these pregnancies. This fact
sheet summarizes available information about these direct
medical costs.
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of Preventing Unplanned Pregnancy
Medicaid's Important Role in Pregnancy Prevention and Planning
October 2008
APHSA Policy & Practice
This journal article, written by National Campaign staffer Jennifer Drake, discusses Medicaid's important role in pregnancy prevention and planning.
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Politics and the Promise of Family Planning
A provision that would have given states the option to expand a Medicaid-funded program subsidizing family planning services for low-income women was recently removed from the economic stimulus plan. National Campaign Board President Isabel Sawhill and Adam Thomas, Research Director for the Center for Children and Families at the Brookings Institution, argue in a new op-ed that President Obama and Congress should return to the issue of the Medicaid family planning waiver as soon as possible.
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