Expanding Access to Medicaid Family Planning

Family Planning in Nevada

Planned Parenthood's five health centers in Nevada handle over 50,000 patient visits each year.  Our health centers provide a range of family planning and reproductive health care services for women, teens, and men including birth control, STD testing and treatment, and cancer screenings.  

According to the Guttmacher Institute, over 149,000 women in Nevada are under 250% of the federal poverty level and need publicly supported contraceptive services and supplies in order to consistently and responsibly prevent unintended pregnancies. We support expanding access to Medicaid family planning, not only on behalf of our clients, but also on behalf of over fifty additional publicly funded family planning centers in Nevada.  In 2006, the 59 family planning health centers in Nevada served almost 70,000 clients. Many women in need are not currently being served, and as a result, experience unintended pregnancies^.1

Women currently qualify for Medicaid coverage of pregnancy and related costs up to 185% of poverty; yet, Medicaid covers family planning and birth control for those who qualify for Medicaid in any category- so for two months post-partum and generally up to 85% of poverty.  

2007 Fiscal Analysis of Medicaid Family Planning in Nevada

In 2007, the Guttmacher Institute worked with the Director of DHCFP to develop a fiscal analysis of Medicaid family planning in Nevada.  According to that evaluation, "the current income ceiling for Medicaid coverage of family planning is [approximately] 86% of poverty; while the ceiling for pregnancy-related care is 185% of poverty.  Establishing parity between the Medicaid eligibility level for family planning and the level for pregnancy-related care in NEVADA would result in the following (estimated annual impact of an expansion by the third year):²

Expansion participants: 43,200

Unplanned pregnancies averted: 6,200

Abortions averted: 2,500

Medicaid-funded births averted: 3,000

Savings from Medicaid-funded births averted: $37.5 million

Cost of expansion program: $14.4 million

Total net savings: $23.1 million

Federal Savings: $8.5 million

State Savings: $14.6 million

The number of women in Nevada in need of publicly supported family planning has gone up since this study; there is certainly reason to believe the long-term savings to the state would be as great if not greater in the future.  

¹ Guttmacher Institute, Contraceptive Needs and Services, Nevada 2006.

² Frost, Sonfieldand Gold, op. cit. Nevada raised its income ceiling for pregnancy related care from 133% of poverty to 185% in late 2006, fter this report was published.  These estimates. therefore, relflect parity at 133%, and are an understatement of the results to be expected at the 185% level.