Affordable family planning services are essential to a person’s health and well-being, yet it remains a challenge for millions of people to obtain. Access to contraception is associated with increased educational attainment, reduction in probability of living in poverty, and improved health outcomes for children and people who can become pregnant. Of the approximately 38 million people in need of contraceptive care in the U.S. each year, 15.5 million are low-income adults and 4.5 million are uninsured. The National Health Law Program is actively working to develop laws and policies to improve access to family planning in public and private health insurance. For example, we are working with states to pass Contraceptive Equity legislation. “Contraceptive Equity” means that every person can make their own decisions about pregnancy prevention, and contraceptive care is easily accessible and covered at no cost in all health programs.
