The Louisiana Department of Health has begun taking applications for the TAKE CHARGE Family Planning Waiver Services Program. The program provides family planning services for some low and moderate-income women who are not already covered by the state’s Medicaid program.

TAKE CHARGE expands access to family planning services. Uninsured women between the ages of 19 and 44 who are otherwise not eligible for Medicaid, LaCHIP and Medicare and who do not have private insurance coverage can participate in the program. Income limits for this program are 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, which amounts to $1,634 a month for a single woman and $3,334 a month for a woman in a family of four.

This family planning program will cover initial and annual medical examinations, laboratory tests and contraceptives, as well as other family planning services.  LDH is getting enhanced federal funds from the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services to provide these services amounting to 90 percent of the program costs.

The program is an important factor in the department’s plan to reduce infant mortality, which is increased by closely spaced births, and unintended pregnancies. “By taking advantage of these family planning services, women will have the opportunity to better plan both the number and spacing of their children,” said LDH Deputy Secretary Dr. Roxane Townsend.

Everyone enrolled in TAKE CHARGE will receive a special pink eligibility card that they must present to their health care provider. Coverage through the program remains in place for 12 months unless the woman becomes pregnant, gains health coverage that includes Family Planning services or moves of out state.

For more information about the TAKE CHARGE Family Planning Waiver Services Program, visit the LDH Web site at http://www.takecharge.dhh.louisiana.gov/  or call 1-888-342-6207.

-end-