Family PACT, California’s publicly-funded family planning program for low-income women and men, is one of the largest and fastest-growing family planning programs in the country. One of the most innovative components of Family PACT is the inclusion of private practitioners. Prior to 1997, California’s family planning program included only public and non-profit clinic providers who were reimbursed for services on a contractual basis. In 1997, in a break from this traditional approach, Family PACT invited private providers, who were already eligible to provide Medi-Cal services, to provide family planning care to its beneficiaries -- low-income residents of the State who had no other source of family planning services. In the two years after implementation, the program served over a million clients.
Out of 2,400 providers enrolled in Family PACT at the end of 1998, more than 1,700 were private providers. Private providers constituted more than 70% of all providers and enrolled 45% of new clients. The major beneficiaries of this expanded provider network are Hispanic women. The number of Hispanic women receiving state-subsidized family planning services increased from 278,000 in the fiscal year before Family PACT started, to 458,000 during its first full fiscal year. Almost 90% of Family PACT clients seen by private practitioners are Hispanic.
This paper examines the impact of the inclusion of private sector providers on access to and delivery of services in California’s Family PACT program.
Learning Objectives: 1. Describe the new public-private partnership in California's publicly funded family planning program. 2) Describe the impact of the new partnership on clients, providers, and delivery of services
Keywords: Family Planning, Public/Private Partnerships
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: State of California Office of Family Planning Family PACT Program
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Independent Evaluator