The Governor’s proposed budget eliminated men from the Medicaid Family Planning Waiver Program, and the Joint Finance Committee restricted the program further by reducing income eligibility for women from 300% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) to 200% FPL. Joint Finance also imposed parental notification and use of family income to determine eligibility for women under 18. The Governor, in his veto, gave the Department of Health Services (DHS) more power to determine potential changes to the program, without legislative oversight. To make these changes to this program, which serves over 57,000 individuals, DHS will need to apply for a federal waiver.
Recent polling shows that 84% of Americans view family planning, including contraception, as important to basic preventive health care services; and only 31% agree that budget concerns should require cuts in funding for family planning. In this way, Wisconsin’s budget is clearly out of touch with the priorities of a majority of citizens.
Family Planning Only services were extended to men in May 2010 to help prevent unintended pregnancies. Men 15 to 44 who were not eligible for BadgerCare Plus and had income below 200% FPL became eligible for family-planning related office visits, condoms, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases/infections, and, for those over 21, voluntary sterilizations. Income eligibility was extended to 300% FPL in November 2010 through the federal health care reform legislation.
In this short time, nearly 7,000 men have enrolled in the program, showing the desire to take responsibility for preventing unintended pregnancy and STI transmission. The Huffington Post wrote a good article, sharing the story of Greg, a Wisconsin resident who will be impacted by these changes.
Concerns have arisen about the status of the entire family planning program, due to the federal approval and process necessary to make the changes prescribed in the budget. Action by DHS and approval by the Federal Government will clarify the changes and impact, and determine the future of this critical program.
Teri Huyck, President of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin shared, “It is greatly disturbing to me that some politicians’ personal beliefs are trumping our shared responsibility to make sure that women and men have access to preventative reproductive health care. The health care we provide saves lives and saves money for all Wisconsin taxpayers.”
In difficult budget times, spending on family planning is a cost-effective investment. In 2008 alone, DHS reported that family planning services saved over $139 million. When expanding the program to men, DHS estimated that savings to Medical Assistance will be approximately $715,000 per quarter for every 1,000 men served per quarter. When we are concerned about rising Medicaid costs, we should be doing everything possible to focus on prevention and best practices that lower costs. Family planning services for males and females do just that.
Sara Eskrich
Tomorrow—Way #13: Read to Lead Program
About the series: “31 Ways in 31 Days” is a series of posts to the WCCF blog exploring the recently-passed biennial budget’s impact on children and families in Wisconsin. Each day in July, we are posting a description of one way the budget will affect kids and families, with an eye toward what should be done going forward to help improve outcomes and move us closer to the goal of making Wisconsin a place where every child has the opportunity to grow up, learn, and thrive in a safe, healthy, economically secure home and community.
