The effect of contraceptive access reform on privately insured patients: Evidence from Delaware Contraceptive Access Now.

BACKGROUND

Many states are implementing comprehensive programs aimed at reducing persistent barriers to contraceptive care. Evidence on the effectiveness of these programs is essential for practice improvement and policy development.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate changes in the probability of initiating a contraceptive method by women with employer sponsored insurance after implementation of Delaware Contraceptive Access Now (DelCAN), a statewide initiative that aimed to increase access to long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs).

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: We used a difference-in-differences design to examine contraceptive initiation rates. Data came from IBM Marketscan and covered women age 15-44 enrolled in employer sponsored insurance. The primary outcome was insertion of a LARC, both in the overall study population and in the immediate postpartum (IPP) setting. Secondary analysis examined changes to other contraceptive method types.

RESULTS

The cohort of 4,550,459 enrollees generated a sample of 11,888,837 person-years and 615,670 childbirth hospitalizations. Difference-in-differences estimates suggested that DelCAN was associated with a 0.3 percentage point (95% CI [0.2, 0.5], p<0.001) increase in the LARC insertion rate in the overall study population and a 0.4 percentage point increase (95% CI [0.2, 0.6], p<0.001) in the percent of births adopting IPP LARC. Associations between DelCAN and LARC insertion appeared stronger for adolescents compared to older women. Results for other method types were less consistent.

CONCLUSIONS

A comprehensive statewide program was associated with increased LARC insertion rates among enrollees with employer sponsored insurance. Understanding the effect of these programs is critical for on-going policy development for states engaged in contraceptive access reform.