2005-2006 Regular Session Senate S 2916 & HR 5795

Summary: This bill would expand access to contraceptive services for women and men under the Medicaid program. The legislation has two primary goals: to restore family planning as a required service under Medicaid (this was required in federal law since 1972 but changed with the passage of the Deficit Reduction Act in 2006), and to ensure that the criteria used by states to determine eligibility for pregnancy-related care would apply to eligibility to family planning services. This bill would establish a nationwide standard that would allow low-income women—those who qualify for Medicaid and who may become pregnant—to have the opportunity and resources to avoid pregnancy if they so desire.

What You Should Know: Publicly funded contraceptive services have prevented 1.3 million unintended pregnancies each year, and without these services, the United States abortion rate would be about 40 percent higher. However, in the United States between 1994 and 2002, rates of unintended pregnancy increased by almost 30 percent among low-income women, and currently low-income women are four times more likely to experience both unintended pregnancy and abortion than their higher income counterparts. Medicaid-funded contraceptive services are cost-effective, and every public dollar spent on family planning saves $3 in the cost of pregnancy-related care. If a woman becomes pregnant she should have equal access both to contraceptive services and pregnancy-related care.

Primary Sponsor(s): Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), and Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)

Introduction Date: 5/19/2006 (Senate); 7/13/2006 (House)

Last Major Action: 5/19/2006. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (Senate)

7/13/06.  Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.