Study of Texas Women’s Health Program Exclusions Effects

AUSTIN, Texas - The public defunding of Planned Parenthood in Texas may have led to a decrease in highly effective forms of contraceptive services and an increase in Medicaid-paid childbirths among women who previously used injectable contraception, according to a peer-reviewed study by University of Texas at Austin researchers. The study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine on Feb. 3, used administrative records to assess rates of the provision of contraceptives, as well as deliveries (childbirth) covered by Medicaid from 2011 through 2014 - before and after Texas excluded Planned Parenthood affiliates from a publicly funded women's health program. The researchers found that since the exclusion, 35 percent fewer claims were made for long-acting, reversible contraceptives, such as implants and intrauterine devices; and 31 percent fewer claims were made for injectable contraceptives, such as Depo-Provera. In contrast, no significant changes were found in the provision of short-acting hormonal contraceptives, such as contraceptive pills, patches and rings. "Providers who are mission-driven and have the requisite experience and knowledge are critical in providing the most effective methods of contraception - IUDs, implants and injectables," said Joseph Potter, director of the Texas Policy Evaluation Project and professor in the university's Population Research Center. "From a demographic perspective, this is important because these methods dramatically decrease unintended pregnancy.