Women's health plan will save state millions
Detroit Free Press
Thursday, June 29, 2006
By Kim Norris Women's health plan will save state millions
About 200,000 low-income Michigan women will be eligible for family planning services through a new state program called "Plan First!" Under the program, the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) will provide coverage to women ages 19 to 44 who otherwise would not have medical coverage for these services. The program does not include coverage of abortions or treatment for infertility. It does include educational material, birth control and prenatal and postnatal care. Eighteen other states have similar programs for family planning services. Enrollment in the plan begins Saturday for all Michigan women living at or below 185% of the federal poverty level who meet Medicaid eligibility. "Investing in more preventive health care for women will help reduce health care costs statewide," Gov. Jennifer Granholm said in a statement announcing the plan. "We will extend services to women across the state and help reduce infant mortality, child abuse, child neglect, and unintended pregnancies." Granholm said if Michigan can reduce the number of unintended pregnancies by only 10%, it would save the state more than $27 million in Medicaid expenditures annually. Data collected under MDCH's Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, which surveys maternal experiences and behaviors before and during a woman's pregnancy, indicated that 40.6% of pregnancies in 2001 were unintended. "It is estimated that each public dollar spent to provide family planning services saves $3 that would otherwise be spent in Medicaid costs for pregnancy-related care and medical care for newborns, according to national Medicaid research," MDCH director Janet Olszewski said. "These services provide cost-savings solutions for our Medicaid program, as well as prevent unintended pregnancies." In addition to the high percentage of unintended pregnancies, infant mortality rates in Michigan are unacceptably high, compounded by the wide disparity between African American and Caucasian infant deaths. MDCH will launch a statewide advertising campaign on July 5.
| 
