Impact of expanding Medicaid coverage to 1-year postpartum on postpartum contraceptive use in South Carolina
Contraception
Awarded 2022
Emerging Scholars in Family Planning
Megan Fuerst, MD, MPH
Oregon Health and Science University
$5,500

Megan (she/her) received her MD and MPH from George Washington University and is a current OB/GYN resident at The Oregon Health and Science University. Her interests include reproductive health policy, adolescent sexual health, and healthcare disparities. Prior to starting medical school, she worked internationally on a variety of maternal and reproductive healthcare access projects. While a student in Washington D.C., she taught sexual and reproductive healthcare to adolescents and became interested in using quantitative research to describe and advocate for progressive reproductive health policies. This project looks at the impact of expanding Medicaid coverage for pregnant individuals to one year postpartum on contraception use. The proposed research will use the South Carolina Medicaid billing and birth certificate data to compare contraceptive use patterns before and after the implementation of the Family First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) which allowed postpartum individuals to remain enrolled in their current healthcare plan until the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Secondary outcomes will study changes in postpartum visit attendance and sociodemographic factors that modify access to contraception and attending a postpartum visit following the policy’s implementation.