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Birth control offer begins Jan. 4 Lower-income women qualify for care By SUSAN JAY Women in Jackson County struggling to make ends meet will no longer have to worry about paying for birth control. Beginning Jan. 4, 1999, public health departments and Planned Parenthood clinics across Oregon will offer free birth control and reproductive health care to women living near the poverty level. That means women will be able to receive birth control pills, a diaphragm, an intrauterine device, even Depo-Provera shots for free, along with the accompanying health exams such as Pap smears and breast cancer screenings. Abstinence is also listed as an appropriate birth control method in the program's brochure. At the doctor's office, a Depo-Provera shot, which protects against conception for three months, can run as high as $60. Birth control pills cost up to $22 at the pharmacy and Norplant, devices implanted in a woman's arm, can cost as much as $400 over a five-year period. Even though many women seeking contraceptive services at the health department and Planned Parenthood pay for birth control on a sliding fee scale, for many it is still expensive, say local and state health officials. "I'm really excited about it," said public health nurse Robin Turgesen, "because I can tell everybody to come through the (public health) doors." She said the program will be especially helpful for low-income women waiting to get on the Oregon Health Plan but who need birth control right away, and for young moms who have just given birth but have to wait several weeks for an appointment to see their doctor for contraceptives. Applying for the free service will be convenient. Women will fill out a simple form when they go to the public health department at 1005 E. Main St. Building A, or at Planned Parenthood, 916 Town Center Drive, Medford. The form asks for an address, Social Security number and income. To qualify, a woman needs to be a U.S. citizen and earn an income at 185 percent of the poverty level or less. For a single person, that equals $1,242 a month. For a family of two, it's $1,673; a family of three it's $2,105; and for a family of four it's $2,537. The five-year, statewide demonstration project aims to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies. State health and Medicaid officials hope to show that by reducing those pregnancies, Medicaid expenses associated with unplanned pregnancies also will drop, including premature births and learning disabilities. Other savings could be seen through fewer families needing welfare and other subsidy programs. Viki Barbour, division manager of Jackson County Public Health, said the new project removes a significant barrier for women in getting contraceptive health care services. "I think it validates that this is an important issue," she said, and recognizes that women can have difficulties beyond their control when practicing family planning. "Sometimes they just didn't have the resources to prevent having babies they didn't want to have," Barbour said. Jackson County had an estimated 1,142 unintended pregnancies reported in 1996, according to statistics collected by the Oregon Health Division. A 1995 Institute of Medicine report found that 60 percent of all pregnancies in the United States were unintended; of those, 30 percent ended in abortion. The Jackson County public health department in 1998 was the second busiest family planning clinic in Oregon, behind Multnomah County, serving an estimated 3,434 women. Medford's Planned Parenthood saw another 1,659 women, bringing the total number of women served to 5,093. Multnomah County served an estimated 7,663 women. Project coordinators hope to increase the number of women served locally by an estimated 1,364 and statewide by 14,500. The state will be able to finance the project because it has received a waiver from the federal government for use of Medicaid dollars. Medicaid is a government program that provides health care for the poor. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA