Policy Change is Not Enough: Engaging Provider Champions on Immediate Postpartum Contraception

Rates of short interval pregnancies resulting in unintended pregnancies remain high in the United States and contribute to adverse reproductive health outcomes. Long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) methods have annual failure rates of less than 1% compared with 9% for oral contraceptive pills, and are an effective strategy to reduce unintended pregnancies. To increase access to LARCs in the immediate postpartum period, several State Medicaid programs, including those in Iowa (IA) and Louisiana (LA), recently established reimbursement policies to remove the barriers to reimbursement of immediate postpartum LARC insertion.

Source: American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology - March 9, 2018 Category: OBGYN Authors: Ekwutosi M. Okoroh, Debra J. Kane, Rebekah E. Gee, Lyn Kieltyka, Brittni N. Frederiksen, Katharyn M. Baca, Kristin M. Rankin, David A. Goodman, Charlan D. Kroelinger, Wanda D. Barfield Tags: Call to Action Source Type: research