The 2020 General Assembly appropriated $3 million to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) for the FY21-22 biennium from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant to design and administer a program to increase access to contraception for women in need. The 2021 General Assembly increased funding for the second year to $4 million. The Virginia Contraceptive Access Initiative (CAI) offers contraception to uninsured patients whose income is below 250% of the federal poverty level (FPL). Originally launched as a pilot program in 2018, this program is designed to prevent unintended pregnancies and improve maternal and child health outcomes.

This report includes data about the program from July 1, 2021 to June 15, 2022. Highlights include the following:

• VDH currently contracts with eighteen qualified health providers across the Commonwealth;

• Patient volume has increased each year of program implementation and is set to increase again this year;

• VDH has provided funding for 5,576 patient encounters during the current budget period; and

• VDH continues to partner with the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) to maximize program impact.

Given the positive public health impact of making family planning services available to patients regardless of ability to pay, VDH anticipates that the CAI will achieve positive health outcomes. To evaluate this, VDH monitors both patient-level and aggregate-level data.