For over three decades, the state of California has provided family planning services to women and men who are under 200% of the federal poverty level but have no coverage for these services either through private insurance or Medi-Cal. In 1997, the state launched Family PACT, a new program designed to expand the capacity of the service system by increasing the number of sites and types of providers who could provide state subsidized services. Fiscal year 97/98 (the first full fiscal year of Family PACT) saw an impressive growth in the number of clients receiving state subsidized contraceptive services – 50% more women and 262% more men than were served under the previous state program. Unmet need for contraceptive services among low-income women in California actually declined under the Family PACT Program despite increases in the number of eligible Californians resulting from Medi-Cal disenrollment, population growth, and an increase in the number of Californians meeting the income requirements. Since the first year of Family PACT when 43% of eligible women were served, reductions in unmet need have continued, though at a slower pace. In 1999, more than half of the women who were eligible for services were being seen by the program. This paper examines the trends in access to services in California and prospects for serving the hard-to-reach.
Learning Objectives: 1. Define the concept of “unmet need for contraceptive services”. 2. Describe the magnitude and geographic distribution of need for contraceptive services among low-income women and men in California. 3. Describe the persistent unmet need for services. 4. Discuss approaches to serving the hard-to-reach population in California
Keywords: Access to Care, Family Planning
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.