Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 Oct;42(5):1960-80.
doi: 10.1111/j.1475-6773.2007.00702.x.

Public savings from the prevention of unintended pregnancy: a cost analysis of family planning services in California

Gorette Amaral  1 , Diana Greene Foster, M Antonia Biggs, Carolyn Bradner Jasik, Signy Judd, Claire D Brindis
Affiliations

Public savings from the prevention of unintended pregnancy: a cost analysis of family planning services in California

Gorette Amaral et al. Health Serv Res. 2007 Oct.

Abstract

Objective: To assess the short-term economic savings associated with the prevention of unintended pregnancies through California's Medicaid family planning demonstration project.

Data sources: Secondary data from health and social service programs available to pregnant or parenting women at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level in California in 2002 and data on the quantity and type of contraceptives dispensed to clients of California's 1115 Federal Medicaid demonstration project.

Study design: The cost of providing publicly funded family planning services was compared with an estimate of public savings resulting from the prevention of unintended pregnancies.

Data collection: To estimate costs and participation rates in each health and social service program, we examined published program reports, government budgetary data, analyses conducted by federal and state level program managers, and calculations from national datasets.

Findings: The unintended pregnancies averted by California's family planning demonstration project in 2002 would have incurred $1.1 billion in public expenditures within 2 years and $2.2 billion within 5 years, significantly more than the $403.8 million spent on the project. Each dollar spent generated savings of $2.76 within 2 years and $5.33 within 5 years.

Conclusions: The California 1115 Medicaid family planning demonstration project resulted in significant public cost savings. The cost of the project was substantially less than the public sector health and social service costs which would have occurred in its absence.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cumulative Public Sector Expenditures Saved over Time Resulting from Family PACT Services Delivered in Calendar Year 2002
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Abma JC, Chandra A, Mosher WD, Peterson LS, Piccinino LJ. Fertility, Family Planning, and Women's Health: New Data from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth. Vital Health Statistics. 1997;23(19):1–114. - PubMed
    1. Brindis CD, Korenbrot CC. The Cost-Effectiveness of Family Planning Expenditures for Contraceptive Services in the State of California. San Francisco: University of California, Center for Reproductive Health Research & Policy; 1995.
    1. California Department of Health Services Office of Family Planning. 2004. “Family PACT: An Overview” [accessed on May 24, 2005]. Available at http://www.dhs.ca.gov/pcfh/ofp/Documents/PDF/FamPact/FPoverview.pdf.
    1. Darney P, Brindis C. Evaluation of the California Family PACT Program, Report to the California State Legislature. San Francisco: University of California; 2000.
    1. Edwards J, Bronstein J, Adams K. Evaluation of Medicaid Family Planning Demonstrations. Alexandria, VA: CNA Corporation; 2003.

Publication types