Title: The costs and benefits of Title XX and Title XIX family planning services in Texas.

POPLINE Document Number: 027809

Author(s):

Malitz D

Source citation:

Evaluation Review, 1984 Aug;8(4):519-36.

Abstract:

The Texas Department of Human Resources (TDHR) provided family planning services to more than a 1/4 of a million women in the fiscal year 1981 through its Title XX and XIX programs. In 1982, TDHR commissioned a study to evaluate the impact of this large program. 1 component of this evaluation was a cost-benefit analysis. In order to evaluate the impact of these services, estimates were made of the number of pregnancies, births, abortions, and miscarriages averted by the program. These cost savings consisted of expenditures which would have been incurred within the 1st year following brith in TDHR's Aid to Families of Dependent Children (AFDC), food stamp, and Medicaid programs. The number of births averted was estimated by examining the patterns of contraceptive use among family planning patients. Using available data regarding the outcomes of unwanted pregnancies in the US, calculations were made of the numbe of births, abortions, and miscarriages which would have resulted from the pregnancies averted. Public assistance costs were estimated for the births averted and compared with the costs of the program to derive the cost-benefit ratio. The final sample consisted of 1606 adolescents (19 years old and younger) (about 2.5% of the Title XX adolescent population) and 1605 adults (20 years and older) about 1.0% of the adult population). Total 1st-year savings to TDHR attributable to births averted by Title XX amounted to nearly US$33 million (includes US$11.7 million attributable to adolescent services; US$21.5 million to adult services) or a net saving of nearly US$16 million. Cost benefit ratios were 1:2.44 for adolescents, 1:1.73 for adults and 1:1.93 for all Title XX patients. For Title XIX patients, the cost-benefit ratio was 1:3.04--1:3.29 for adolescents, and 1:2.93 for adults. For every US$ spent on family planning under Title XIX, the TDHR saved about US$3. Net savings were calculated at US$10.1 million.

Keywords:

Texas
Medical Assistance, Title 19
United States
Expenditures
Public Assistance
Financing, Government
Legislation
Pregnancy, Unwanted
Government Agencies
North America
Family Planning Programs
Program Effectiveness
Socioeconomic Factors
Births Averted
Sampling Studies
Qualitative Evaluation
Cost Benefit Analysis
Evaluation Methodology
Research Report
Adolescents, Female
Abortion
Fetal Death
Contraceptive Methods Chosen
Developed Countries
Americas
Financial Activities
Economic Factors
Reproductive Behavior
Fertility
Population Dynamics
Demographic Factors
Population
Organizations
Family Planning
Programs
Organization and Administration
Program Evaluation
Family Planning Program Evaluation
Studies
Research Methodology
Evaluation
Quantitative Evaluation
Adolescents
Youth
Age Factors
Population Characteristics
Fertility Control, Postconception
Mortality
Contraceptive Usage
Contraception