The provision of immediate postpartum long-acting reversible contraception (IPP LARC) is an essential component of comprehensive reproductive health care and helps empower patients to choose a method right for them. However, more widespread adoption of immediate postpartum LARC has been hampered by systems barriers, such as the inability to obtain reimbursement for LARC devices and services provided immediately postpartum. On April 8, 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released an Informational Bulletin detailing payment and policy approaches state Medicaid agencies have used to optimize access and use of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) methods. As of October 2023, 45 states and the District of Columbia have published guidance on Medicaid reimbursement of IPP LARC largely due to ACOG’s advocacy efforts. States can take one of three pathways to reimburse for IPP LARC outside of the global obstetric payment: providing sperate reimbursement for the LARC device, providing separate reimbursement for insertion of the LARC device, or providing separate reimbursement for both services.
The map and the accompanying chart below detail state policies regarding reimbursement for IPP LARC.
Last Updated November 2023