Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm today announced that enrollment for the state’s new Plan First! program will begin July 1, and will expand health services to an expected 200,000 more women.

“Investing in more preventative health care for women will help reduce health care costs statewide,” Granholm said. “Through this innovative program, we will extend services to women across the state and help reduce infant mortality, child abuse, child neglect, and unintended pregnancies.”

Granholm said if Michigan can reduce the number of unintended pregnancies by only 10 percent, it would save the state more than $27 million in Medicaid expenditures annually. Plan First!  is a program to expand family planning to 200,000 low income women.

The creation of the Plan First! program came after the federal government approved the Governor’s request for a Medicaid waiver to fund the program in March 2006.  Michigan will kick off its official Plan First! marketing campaign on July 5, when television commercials debut throughout the state.

Granholm first announced plans for Plan First! when she unveiled her Blueprint for Preventing Unintended Pregnancies in July 2005 that also includes two other initiatives:  “Talk Early, Talk Often,” a pilot program that has already taught hundreds of middle school parents to talk to their children about sexuality and abstinence; and contraceptive equity for men and women.

Through Plan First!, the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) will now provide family planning services to women - ages 19 to 44 - who otherwise would not have medical coverage for these services.

Janet Olszewski, MDCH Director, said 200,000 women at or below 185 percent of poverty who reside in Michigan and meet Medicaid eligibility are estimated to benefit from the extension of family planning services. 

“It is estimated that each public dollar spent to provide family planning services saves $3 that would otherwise be spent in Medicaid costs for pregnancy-related care and medical care for newborns, according to national Medicaid research,” Olszewski said.  “These services provide cost-savings solutions for our Medicaid program, as well as prevent unintended pregnancies.”

Olszewski said the program does not include coverage for abortions or treatment of infertility.  Eighteen other states have similar programs for family planning services.

MDCH’s Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS - a survey of maternal experiences and behaviors before and during a woman's pregnancy) data for the year 2001 shows that 40.6 percent of all pregnancies were unintended.
 
Individuals that are interested in applying for Plan First! services can call 1-800-642-3195 to enroll in the program.