Publicly-funded Women's Health Services

Publicly-funded Women's Health Services in Ohio

Ohio

Publicly-funded women’s health services provide women with support to stay healthy, avoid unplanned pregnancies and prepare for healthy pregnancies. Publicly-funded women’s health and family planning centers offer contraceptive services to the general public and use public funds, such as Medicaid, to provide free or reduced-fee services to some clients. These centers are a key provider of contraceptive services for women at highest risk of unintended pregnancy and other adverse reproductive health outcomes. 

Other services include:

• Pregnancy testing and education to prevent preterm births and low birthweight infants.
• Preventive care to avoid cases of cervical cancer, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. 
• Family planning to assist with structure and support to plan, delay and space pregnancies and achieve personal family planning goals. 

Together, publicly-supported family planning services in the United States resulted in net public sector savings of nearly $12 billion in 2016.

Among women of reproductive age in the United States, low-income women have a higher need for publicly-funded women’s health services compared with women with higher income.

An increase in the numbers of the centers and expansion of Medicaid would help to meet the need for family planning services among low-income and minority women. For example, Michigan experienced an increase in the number of women with access to family planning services after the state expanded Medicaid. Only 39 states have adopted the expansion of Medicaid as of June 2022.

A Healthy People 2030 objective is to increase the proportion of women who receive needed publicly-funded birth control services and support.

Frost, Jennifer J., Mia R. Zolna, Lori F. Frohwirth, Ayana Douglas-Hall, Nakeisha Blades, Jennifer Mueller, Zoe H. Pleasure, and Shivani Kochhar. “Publicly Supported Family Planning Services in the United States: Likely Need, Availability and Impact, 2016.” Report. New York: Guttmacher Institute, October 2019. https://www.guttmacher.org/report/publicly-supported-FP-services-US-2016.

Moniz, Michelle H., Matthias A. Kirch, Erica Solway, Susan D. Goold, John Z. Ayanian, Edith C. Kieffer, Sarah J. Clark, Renuka Tipirneni, Jeffrey T. Kullgren, and Tammy Chang. “Association of Access to Family Planning Services With Medicaid Expansion Among Female Enrollees in Michigan.” JAMA Network Open 1, no. 4 (August 31, 2018): e181627. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.1627.

Sonfield, Adam, Kinsey Hasstedt, and Rachel Benson Gold. “Moving Forward: Family Planning in the Era of Health Reform.” Report. New York: Guttmacher Institute, March 1, 2014. https://www.guttmacher.org/report/moving-forward-family-planning-era-health-reform.

Zapata, Lauren B., Karen Pazol, Kathryn M. Curtis, Debra J. Kane, Tara C. Jatlaoui, Suzanne G. Folger, Ekwutosi M. Okoroh, Shanna Cox, and Maura K. Whiteman. “Need for Contraceptive Services Among Women of Reproductive Age — 45 Jurisdictions, United States, 2017–2019.” MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 70, no. 25 (June 25, 2021): 910–15. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7025a2.