Medicaid Family Planning Waivers in 3 States: Did They Reduce Unwanted Births?

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Kathleen Adams, Emory University; Katya Galactionova, Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute; Genevieve M. Kenney, The Urban Institute
• Language: English
• Date: 2015-06-03
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © The Author(s) 2015.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0046958015588915
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing
• ISSN: 1945-7243
• Volume: 52
• Start Page: 004695801558891
• End Page: 004695801558891
• Grant/Funding Information: This research was made possible through the funding of the Office of Population Affairs (OPA).
• Keywords: DISPARITIES; OUTCOMES; unwanted births; PREGNANT-WOMEN; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; EXPANSIONS; Medicaid; Science & Technology; WELFARE-REFORM; CARE; Health Care Sciences & Services; BEHAVIORS; costs; Health Policy & Services; family planning; section 1115 waivers; INSURANCE-COVERAGE
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Public Health

Abstract

Effects of Medicaid family planning waivers on unintended births and contraceptive use postpartum were examined in Illinois, New York, and Oregon using the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System. Estimates for women who would be Medicaid eligible "if" pregnant in the waiver states and states without expansions were derived using a difference-in-differences approach. Waivers in New York and Illinois were associated with almost a 5.0 percentage point reduction in unwanted births among adults and with a 7 to 8.0 percentage point reduction, among youth less than 21 years of age. Oregon's waiver was associated with an almost 13 percentage point reduction in unintended, mostly mistimed, births. No statistically significant effects were found on contraceptive use.