Advancing reproductive health equity through a new contraceptive access initiative

Illinois has been a national leader in adopting progressive reproductive health policies that have expanded Medicaid coverage, reduced Medicaid abortion coverage restrictions, and protected minors’ rights to many sexual and reproductive health services. Although these strides are significant, inequality in contraceptive access persists. Nearly one third of contraceptive users lack coverage for contraceptive services and supplies. An estimated 800 000 women live in counties without health centers offering the full range of contraceptive methods. One in three health care delivery networks in Illinois are religiously affiliated, with an even higher proportion among Medicaid recipients in Cook County, limiting patients’ options for family-planning services.
Where contraceptive care is accessible, quality varies widely and depends on the individual provider’s training and biases and the health center’s infrastructure. Many Medicaid providers report offering birth control, but often the services are limited to birth control pills or Depo-Provera. Among patients seeking contraceptive care at Illinois community health centers, only one in five receives contraceptive counseling.
By training community health care providers to deliver patient-centered contraceptive care, by empowering patients to seize their right to the highest-quality care, and by removing financial barriers through innovative policy reform, Illinois Contraceptive Access Now (ICAN!) seeks to create an Illinois where every person can decide whether, when, and under what circumstances to become pregnant and parent. Lessons from this five-year initiative (2021–2025) will help to establish a new standard for contraceptive care in preventive and primary care. (author introduction) #P4HEwebinarOctober2024