The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #60966

Anna Ramirez, MPH¹, Jan Treat, PHN, MN¹, John Mikanda, MD, MPH², Lori A. Llewelyn, MPP³, Catherine Maternowska, PhD, MPH³, Kate Marie, MPA³, and Phillip Darney, MD, MSc⁴. (1) Office of Family Planning, State of California Department of Health Services, 714 P Street #440, Sacramento, CA 95814, (916) 654-0357, ARAMIREZ@DHS.CA.GOV, (2) Office of Family Planning, California Department of Health Services, 714 P Street, Room 440, Sacramento, CA 95814, (3) Center for Reproductive Health Research & Policy, University of California, San Francisco, 2000 O Street, Suite 200, Sacramento, CA 95814, (4) Center for Reproductive Health Research and Policy, University of California at San Francisco, 3333 California Street, Suite 335, San Francisco, CA 93118

Over the next two decades, California’s population is expected to grow by 32% (from 33 million to almost 46 million). Although some of this population increase will result from immigration, most of it will be due to births to California residents – more than 22 million births are projected by the year 2025. Low-income women (<=200% FPL) make up 40% of California’s women of reproductive age yet account for nearly two-thirds of California’s births.

The Family PACT (Planning, Access, Care & Treatment) Program provides family planning reproductive health services to the working poor, uninsured and underinsured. Eligible clients include all California residents – women and men – with a family income below 200% of the FPL, at risk of pregnancy, and with no other source of coverage for family planning services. In 1999, California was granted a five-year Medicaid Section 1115 Demonstration Waiver for the Family PACT Program, which has enabled development of innovative outreach and recruitment programs targeted to hard-to-reach populations: adolescents, males and people in rural and remote areas.

Now serving 1.3 million clients a year, the Family PACT Program has made dramatic progress in increasing access to underserved populations. Two-thirds of Family PACT clients are Hispanic, and 55% report Spanish as their primary language. Twenty-one percent of clients are adolescents. Eleven percent are males, and the trend over the last five years has been steadily upward. Drawing on program data analyzed by UCSF, this paper will review innovative strategies that have contributed to the success of this program.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the demographic future of California and the challenges posed by population growth, immigration, and poverty.
• Describe the structure and innovative features of the Family PACT Program, including the provider community, client eligibility determination, and scope of services.
• Learn how Family PACT has been successful in providing access to a diverse clientele, including the role of California's federal Waiver Medicaid Demonstration Project.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.