Use of Effective Contraceptive Methods by Women on Medicaid in Washington State

This report describes utilization of the most and moderately effective contraceptive care (MMEC) from 2014 to 2018 for Medicaid-eligible women of reproductive age in Washington State. The report also estimates unmet contraceptive need of Medicaid-eligible women and highlights the MMEC as a performance measure for Washington’s managed care organizations (MCO). We found that Medicaid-eligible women ages 21-30 and Non-Hispanic White women used more MMEC than other age and race/ethnicity groups. Among women with a recent birth, adolescents (ages 15-20) and Hispanic women used more MMEC than older women and other race/ethnicity groups. Contraceptive need was met for the majority of Medicaid women of reproductive age, leaving opportunities for improvement to promote the use of effective contraceptive methods at one in eight adolescents and one in five 21-44 year olds. The variation in estimated unmet need of effective contraceptive use by each MCO suggests that improvement on reporting is needed for some MCOs.