Low-Income Women's Access to Family Planning

Illinois provides increased access to reproductive health care services through a Section 1115 family planning waiver.  The waiver allows the state to cover family planning services for women ages 19 to 44 who would otherwise lose eligibility for Medicaid after 60 days postpartum and for women with incomes up to 200 % of the federal poverty level who are not otherwise eligible for state and federal health care programs.

Beneficiaries of family planning coverage available through the waiver are not required to pay premiums or co-payments for covered services.  Covered services include: family planning office visits; laboratory visits for family planning, education and counseling; FDA-approved contraceptives, certain over the counter contraceptives, diaphragms, contraceptive injectables, contraceptive implants and sterilizations.

The waiver will expire on Mar. 31, 2009;  state officials intend to submit a renewal application.

Ill. Family Planning Demonstration Fact Sheet, Ctrs. for Medicare and Medicaid Servs. at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicaidStWaivProgDemoPGI/MWDL/itemdetail.asp?filterType=none&filterByDID=-99&sortByDID=2&sortOrder=ascending&itemID=CMS028623&intNumPerPage=2000 (last visited Dec. 5, 2008);
NARAL Pro-Choice America Survey of State Medicaid Offices