Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,
December 27, 2010
Income
limits raised for free birth control
By PATRICK MARLEY
Madison - A state
program that provides free birth control to those from the ages
of 15 to 44 will be available to more people after the federal
government on Thursday approved raising income limits in the program.
Wisconsin is the first
state to raise the income levels for the program, which was allowed
under the federal health care reform law passed earlier this year,
according to Wausaubased Family Planning Health Services.
The federal approval
makes the program more widely available, but its future remains
unclear because of skepticism from Republicans who will take over
state government in January.
The family planning
program, which also provides screening for sexually transmitted
diseases, had been available to those making 200% above the federal
poverty level. The changes approved Thursday raise eligibility
to 300% of the federal poverty level, making it available to individuals
who earn up to $32,490 a year.
The program is controversial
because girls as young as 15 can get access to birth control without
parental consent. Virtually anyone age 15 to 17 is eligible for
the program because parental income is not taken into account
when determining if children qualify for the program.
Initially available
to females only, the program was expanded to include males last
year. More than 54, 000 people are enrolled.
Supporters say it has
greatly reduced sexually transmitted diseases and saved millions
of dollars by preventing births that would have been borne by
Medicaid, the state-federal health care program for low-income
people.
In an e-mail to supporters
touting the federal approval of the expansion, Family Planning
Health Services Executive Director Lon Newman wrote: "It
is a great victory toward achieving universal access to reproductive
health care." Opponents have called for eliminating the program
or raising the minimum age to 18. Scaling back the 7-year-old
program appears possible with Republicans about to take over the
governor's office and both houses of the Legislature.
"I certainly intend
to pare it back as much as I can," said Sen. Glenn Grothman
(R-West Bend), who will sit on the budgetwriting Joint Finance
Committee.
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