I want to discuss more about this globally, and maybe someone does have more information from other countries, but there is a relationship in what I’m about to say.  It is also very related to what Val and I presenting on in another class.

Refugees and immigrants come from all over the world to seek asylum or live in the US.  They come here, have limited funds, no health insurance, and have limited access to family planning.  But…they still have sex, of course!  Depending on who your partner is, this can sometimes lead to an unintended pregnancy.  This person can also be an American teenager or a working underinsured 20-something year-old.

I think I mentioned during Alyssa’s presentation about AWESOME family planning coverage in Washington State.  Here is more info on that Take Charge program:  http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/personal/insurance/takecharge.aspx

There is also something AWESOMELY similar in California that is called Family Planning, Access, Care, and Treatment (FPACT).  http://www.familypact.org/_Resources/Tip%20Sheets/FamilyPACTOverview_V07-12ADA.pdf

In both cases, if this refugee/immigrant goes into, for example, a Planned Parenthood…the person behind the counter will assess their ability to pay and see if they qualify for Take Charge or FPACT.  This really does help the people who need help to pay for these types of important services.  Both are I don’t know everything, however, so I don’t know what happens when people don’t qualify…

Now…how can we get people from their new abodes to places where they can apply for these plans BEFORE they have an unintended pregnancy?  I don’t remember the citizenship requirements for Take Charge–been too long since I’ve been there.  For FPACT, however, you just have to be a resident of California in the sense of living there for “a few weeks” according to this one employee at the of the PP locations.  That was pretty neat to me that she did not ask for any state-issued ID or even federal-issued ID.

Do you know of any other programs domestically or globally that help fill this gap for people?