PUBLIC FUNDING FOR CONTRACEPTIVE, STERILIZATION AND ABORTION SERVICES, FISCAL YEAR 1992

In 1992, the federal and state governments spent $645 million to provi de contraceptive services. According to the results of a survey of hea lth, social service and Medicaid agencies conducted by The Alan Guttma cher Institute, Medicaid accounted for 50% of all public spending on f amily planning services. State governments, which spent a total of $15 5 million of their own revenues for contraceptive services, accounted for 24% of public funding, Title X for 17%, and the social services an d maternal and child health block-grant programs for nearly 10%. Medic aid expenditures for contraceptive services increased dramatically bet ween 1990 and 1992, and were responsible for a 28% rise in total expen ditures for contraceptive services during that period. However, when i nflation is taken into account, total public expenditures for contrace ptive services have decreased by 27% since 1980, and Medicaid has repl aced Title X as the primary source of funding for such services. The f ederal and state governments together spent $138 million to subsidize sterilization services in 1992, an increase of 46% from 1990. The fede ral and state governments also spent $60 million to provide 202,622 ab ortions to poor women, less than 1% was contributed by the federal gov ernment. These estimates of expenditures are approximations that, beca use of methodologic problems and changes over time, may overstate publ ic expenditures for contraceptive services.