Martha Bailey, director of the California Center for Population Research and professor of economics at the University of California Los Angeles, will present “M-CARES: Evidence from the First Two Years.” 

The Michigan Contraceptive Access Research and Evaluation Study (M-CARES) is a randomized control trial (RCT) that examines how out-of-pocket costs affects the choice of contraceptive method among uninsured individuals in the U.S. The study randomizes vouchers that cover any contraceptive method up to the cost of 50% or 100% of a name-brand intra-uterine device (IUD). The results show that Title X clients are highly constrained in their choice of method by costs. Receiving a voucher that eliminates out-of-pocket costs for contraception increases the purchase of any birth control by 40% (ITT effect), the value of birth control purchased by 94%, the period covered by purchased birth control by a 328 days (226%), and the likelihood of choosing a long-acting, reversible method (an IUD or implant) by over 324%. The results imply that a national policy of eliminating the costs of contraception uninsured individuals seeking reproductive health care would reduce undesired pregnancies by 5.3%, birth rates by 3.9%, and abortions by 8.3%, and save $1.43 billion in the first two years of the program.

The KPC virtual seminar series brings together cutting-edge research on population issues of importance to the middle of the country covering births, deaths, and everything in the middle.