Tracking the trends. Year-end review of 1995 state actions on reproductive health policy. Family planning services
Donovan, P.
State Reproductive Health Monitor Legislative Proposals and Actions 6(4): 3; 7-8
1995
ISSN/ISBN: 1046-6703 PMID: 12291287 Document Number: 563530
In 1995, in the US, nonlegislative proposals in 11 states centered on efforts to expand Medicaid eligibility for family planning services with three approved; while legislation in six states sought to mandate private insurance coverage of contraceptives. By the end of 1995, at least 11 states had requested permission to waive current federal rules in order to expand Medicaid eligibility for family planning services. These demonstration programs were approved in three states and had the potential of increasing the availability of family planning services for low-income women who would not otherwise qualify for Medicaid. Maryland, Rhode Island, and South Carolina extended postpartum coverage beyond the 60-day limit, and other states sought similar measures. In 1995, in six states, bills aimed at increasing the coverage of reversible contraceptive services offered in private health insurance plans were introduced. The California bill would have required insurance plans to cover prescription contraceptives; however, anti-abortion activists forced a veto of the bill. Some state legislators also proposed incentives for the use of contraceptives for women on welfare, particularly endorsing contraceptive implants. These attempts elicited concern about the imposition of involuntary family planning practices on welfare recipients. In 1995, fewer coercive birth control bills were proposed than in the previous two years. Instead, the child exclusion policy was attempted that would deny additional assistance to a child born to a woman on welfare. Reproductive rights advocates strongly opposed both contraceptive implant use requirements and family caps. Several bills were also proposed to expand access to family planning services to low-income women who voluntarily use contraception. Pennsylvania appropriated funds for family planning services for medically indigent women; however, those funds were limited exclusively to nonpregnant women.