Contraception and abortion coverage: what do primary care physicians think?

BackgroundInsurance coverage for family planning services has been a highly controversial element of the US health care reform debate. Whether primary care providers (PCPs) support public and private health insurance coverage for family planning services is unknown.Study DesignPCPs in three states were surveyed regarding their opinions on health plan coverage and tax dollar use for contraception and abortion services.ResultsAlmost all PCPs supported health plan coverage for contraception (96%) and use of tax dollars to cover contraception for low-income women (94%). A smaller majority supported health plan coverage for abortions (61%) and use of tax dollars to cover abortions for low-income women (63%). In adjusted models, support of health plan coverage for abortions was associated with female gender and internal medicine specialty, and support of using tax dollars for abortions for low-income women was associated with older age and internal medicine specialty.ConclusionThe majority of PCPs support health insurance coverage of contraception and abortion, as well as tax dollar subsidization of contraception and abortion services for low-income women.