New Analysis Quantifies the Benefits and Savings of Family Planning

We’ve known for a while that public investment in family planning pays off. But now a new study published in The Milbank Quarterly reveals just how cost effective it really is. The paper, “Return on Investment: A Fuller Assessment of the Benefits and Cost Savings of the US Publicly Funded Family Planning Program,” written by Jennifer Frost and colleagues at the Guttmacher Institute, demonstrates that public investment in family planning programs and providers not only helps women and couples avoid unintended pregnancy and abortion, but also helps reduce the incidence of cervical cancer, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), infertility, and preterm and low birth rate births. The impact on health and cost savings of many of these preventive services has been studied independently, but no study has looked at these services together in the context of the care delivered to publically supported individuals.