Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) on Tuesday signed into law a state budget bill (HB 1405) that includes $2.5 million in funding for an initiative that offers long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) to women who are lower-income or uninsured, the Colorado Springs Gazette reports.
The budget passed 30-5 in the state Senate and 39-26 in the state House (Schrader, Colorado Springs Gazette, 5/3).
Background
The Colorado Family Planning Initiative offers no- or low-cost LARCs, such as intrauterine devices and hormonal implants, to low-income women at 68 clinics throughout the state. The initiative was established as a five-year pilot program through a private donation of about $25 million. The funding expired in July 2015, and the program subsequently had longer waiting lists and was not able to offer as many services.
Data from the Colorado Department of Public Health show that the birth rates and abortion rates among teenagers in the state declined by 48 percent between 2009 and 2014. According to state officials, the program also has saved Medicaid roughly $79 million between 2010 and 2012.
In May 2015, a Colorado Senate committee killed a measure (HB 15-1194) that would have provided $5 million in funding to continue the program. However, state officials have said the program would remain in place. In August 2015, state officials announced that several organizations pledged a total of about $2 million to fund the program through June 30, 2016 (Women's Health Policy Report, 4/8).
