Sexual and Reproductive Health Coverage for Adolescents through the Affordable Care Act

Cicatelli Associates, Inc. is a New Yorkbased nonprofit committed to improving health care and social services for vulnerable populations around the globe. As a national training center for the Office of Adolescent Health and Center for Disease Control, CAI is playing a key role in reducing teen pregnancy. CAI requested a Capstone team to conduct extensive research on accessibility to sexual and reproductive health services through the Affordable Care Act, focusing on contraceptive benefits available to adolescents. The team studied 11 communities from nine different states, reviewing available marketplace health plans, costs, consumer navigation processes, adequacy of provider networks, and usability of marketplace websites. As a result, the team developed two resources documents for each community: 1) a community profile, informing project participants and community leaders of available contraceptive benefits and potential coverage gaps; 2) a template for health care providers to advise patients seeking coverage and reproductive care.