CEDAR RAPIDS – The Iowa Department of Human Services has received approval for a five-year federal project aimed at increasing the number of women receiving family planning services.

Officials view the program, targeted at low-income women, as a means to reducing Medicaid costs.

The Medicaid demonstration project could reduce the number of unintended pregnancies for some 60,000 low-income Iowans of childbearing age whose birth expenses would be paid by the federal program, officials said.

According to state records, 33 percent of births in Iowa were covered by Medicaid in 2003, or 12,789 out of 38,139 total births in the state.

That was up from 27 percent, or 10,453 births out of 37,610 in the state in 2001.

Beginning in February, low-income women ages 12 to 44 who earn 200 percent or less of poverty level will be eligible.

They’ll be able to go to a health clinic and apply to receive free annual gynecological exams, birth control pills and other family planning services. Abortions are not covered under the program.

Most of the funding comes through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, with the state paying 10 percent to match the 90 percent from the federal agency.

DHS spokesman Roger Munns said Iowa had been trying to gain access to the program for two years. At least 20 other states have the program, he said.

In a five-year period, federal costs for births in Iowa – which include prenatal care, delivery, pregnancy-related services and services to infants up to age 1 – were estimated to be $568 million without the program.

Federal savings during the program’s five years could amount to $11.3 million, according to projections made by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Iowa could also save about half that amount, officials said.

Paying for health care including birth control bills, which can cost $30 a month, can be challenging for low-income women, said Karen Kubby, executive director of the Emma Goldman Clinic in Iowa City, which offers reproductive health care services.

“When deciding between shoes that fit your children or preventative health services . your kids are going to be your priority,” she said. “This allows preventative health care to be high on your priority list.”