Medicaid family planning expansions hit stride

Over the last decade, 18 states have expanded eligibility for Medicaid-covered family planning services to large numbers of their residents who would otherwise not be eligible for such care. These states have taken a variety of approaches in their expanded programs, both in regard to the populations they cover and to the specific services they provide. Together, these expanded programs provided critical contraceptive services as well as testing for cervical cancer, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV to 1.7 million clients in FY 2001, with 1.3 million served in California alone.