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U.S. gender wage gap grows for first time in a decade; Trump has embraced NC's Mark Robinson, calling him 'Martin Luther King on steroids'; Volunteers sought as early voting kicks off in MN; Women's political contributions in congressional races fall short of men's.

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Rising threats of political violence, a Federal Reserve rate cut, crypto industry campaign contributions and reproductive rights are shaping today's political landscape.

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A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

Obamacare Expands Access to Birth Control in Connecticut

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Friday, December 27, 2013   

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Thousands of lower-income Connecticut residents have signed up for free family planning services under the Medicaid expansion made possible by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Jenny Carrillo, senior vice president of Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, says her organization has enrolled 4,000 people in the past year, which is 90 percent of all enrollees in the program.

Besides the numbers, Carrillo says there's another exciting development.

"We also have seen a sharp increase in the number of women who are choosing IUDs and hormonal implants, which are the long-acting reversible contraceptives that are the most effective reversible methods of birth control," she says.

Carrillo adds outreach workers have gone into schools, churches or wherever people want community education in an effort to reduce unintended pregnancies, especially among Latina and African-American teens, who have a higher rate of such pregnancies than white women.

Carrillo says the program not only benefits the women themselves and their partners, it also benefits all taxpayers.

"In Medicaid you can spend as much as $14,000 on the cost of a birth and well child care for a year,” she says. “So instead to be putting our dollars up front in the prevention of unintended pregnancies obviously would make a lot of sense."

Carrillo adds that 90 percent of the costs of family planning services under Medicaid are reimbursed to states by the federal government, making it an especially attractive program for Connecticut.







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