Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #119367

Kay Johnson, MPH, EdM¹, Adam Brush, MPH², Sheree Boulet, PhD², and Hani K. Atrash, MD, MPH³. (1) Johnson Consulting Group, 175 Red Pine Road, Hinesburg, VT 05461, 802-482-3005, KJ813@aol.com, (2) National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd. NE, E-87, Atlanta, GA 30333, (3) Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd. NE E-87, Atlanta, GA 30333

Preconceptional care includes an array of interventions designed to improve reproductive outcomes. The elements of preconception care are similar in many ways to routine well-woman care but also include specific interventions aimed at protecting future fetal and infant health (e.g., folic acid, vaccines, genetic disorders, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases). Policy and finance barriers limit the availability of preconception care and, reportedly, limit professional practice changes. Millions of women of childbearing age lack adequate health coverage, and others life in underserved areas. Service delivery fragmentation contributes further to this problem. This paper will review barriers and opportunities for financing the ongoing process of preconception care, based on a review and analysis of 50-state policies, including Medicaid, Title V, and Title X. Opportunities to use and improve health care coverage, through public programs such as Medicaid, Medicaid waivers, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and family waivers will be discussed, along with the role of other state and federal insurance laws.

Learning Objectives:

• Increase knowledge of existing public policies to improve access to preconception care for women.
• Increase knowledge of policies to subsidized preconception care financing for low-income women.
• Increase awareness of opportunities and barriers to policy change.

Keywords: Reproductive Health, Financing

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation