Mississippi County-Level Data
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In Mississippi, more than half of women of childbearing age are estimated to be avoiding pregnancy and in need of contraceptive services. Twenty percent of women ages 15-44 are uninsured, meaning they are without access to quality contraception without cost-sharing through public or private health insurance. However, they may rely on public sources of health care and family planning including public health departments and community health centers. Researchers estimate that without publicly supported providers of contraception, Mississippi’s unintended pregnancy rate would be higher by as much as 41 percent.
Publically-Funded Contraceptive Services In Mississippi
Title X of the Public Health Service Act was established to provide funds for family
planning services for low income individuals who have no health insurance.
Uninsured Missippians ages 13-44 may receive low-cost or free contraceptive
services at all public health clinics.In Mississippi, 80 percent of family planning clients served
at publicly funded clinics are uninsured.
Women Who Need Publicly Supported Contraception
This includes women who are under 18 and/or low income and uninsured.
Women Who Need Contraception
Women ages 13-44 (regardless of income or insurance status) who are not yet pregnant,
but who are sexually active and avoiding pregnancy are considered in need of contraception.
| MS County | What percentage of women 13-44 are in need of public support? | What percentage of women in need of publicly supported contraception are uninsured? | What percentage of women in need of contraception are served in public clinics? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adams | 73% | 24% | 33% |
| Alcorn | 66% | 26% | 12% |
| Amite | 66% | 31% | 21% |
| Attala | 74% | 27% | 31% |
| Benton | 71% | 26% | 9% |
| Bolivar | 76% | 23% | 36% |
| Calhoun | 71% | 31% | 33% |
| Carroll | 72% | 30% | 32% |
| Chickasaw | 75% | 27% | 56% |
| Choctaw | 73% | 24% | 12% |
| Claiborne | 77% | 20% | 27% |
| Clarke | 63% | 26% | 14% |
| Clay | 77% | 25% | 11% |
| Coahoma | 78% | 21% | 36% |
| Copiah | 67% | 27% | 27% |
| Covington | 63% | 27% | 12% |
| De Soto | 47% | 25% | 11% |
| Forrest | 63% | 23% | 16% |
| Franklin | 64% | 29% | 57% |
| George | 57% | 29% | 10% |
| Greene | 63% | 29% | 6% |
| Grenada | 76% | 25% | 25% |
| Hancock | 53% | 32% | 9% |
| Harrison | 55% | 27% | 16% |
| Hinds | 63% | 23% | 29% |
| Holmes | 83% | 23% | 39% |
| Humphreys | 86% | 26% | 20% |
| Issaquena | 80% | 25% | — |
| Itawamba | 66% | 26% | 17% |
| Jackson | 52% | 27% | 9% |
| Jasper | 74% | 28% | 27% |
| Jefferson | 73% | 21% | 30% |
| Jefferson Davis | 69% | 28% | 16% |
| Jones | 73% | 27% | 11% |
| Kemper | 70% | 31% | 39% |
| Lafayette | 79% | 22% | 6% |
| Lamar | 58% | 25% | 4% |
| Lauderdale | 66% | 26% | 9% |
| Lawrence | 61% | 29% | 20% |
| Leake | 66% | 33% | 24% |
| Lee | 65% | 24% | 13% |
| Leflore | 86% | 24% | 22% |
| Lincoln | 61% | 26% | 25% |
| Lowndes | 69% | 24% | 15% |
| Madison | 53% | 26% | 6% |
| Marion | 63% | 27% | 3% |
| Marshall | 77% | 29% | 12% |
| Monroe | 69% | 31% | 33% |
| Montgomery | 78% | 28% | 58% |
| Neshoba | 64% | 31% | 66% |
| Newton | 64% | 27% | 41% |
| Noxubee | 82% | 31% | 32% |
| Oktibbeha | 78% | 23% | 11% |
| Panola | 68% | 28% | 25% |
| Pearl River | 57% | 27% | 6% |
| Perry | 68% | 29% | 14% |
| Pike | 72% | 25% | 34% |
| Pontotoc | 60% | 29% | 15% |
| Prentiss | 67% | 26% | 18% |
| Quitman | 77% | 27% | 29% |
| Rankin | 46% | 25% | 9% |
| Scott | 64% | 34% | 62% |
| Sharkey | 78% | 23% | 28% |
| Simpson | 60% | 27% | 11% |
| Smith | 59% | 27% | 16% |
| Stone | 59% | 25% | 19% |
| Sunflower | 86% | 25% | 32% |
| Tallahatchie | 83% | 26% | 42% |
| Tate | 60% | 28% | 31% |
| Tippah | 72% | 28% | 23% |
| Tishomingo | 64% | 28% | 19% |
| Tunica | 78% | 21% | 43% |
| Union | 61% | 29% | 18% |
| Walthall | 69% | 31% | 16% |
| Warren | 68% | 25% | 28% |
| Washington | 84% | 26% | 29% |
| Wayne | 73% | 30% | 8% |
| Webster | 70% | 26% | 22% |
| Wilkinson | 77% | 26% | 25% |
| Winston | 75% | 28% | 6% |
| Yalobusha | 75% | 25% | 17% |
| Yazoo | 73% | 25% | 30% |
| Total | 64% | 26% | 19% |
Discussion
Most women 15-44 in Mississippi (80 percent) have access to contraception at no cost-sharing through public and private insurance. The remaining 20 percent are uninsured, and as many as 55,000 of these women are estimated to need public support to obtain contraception.
Publicly funded family planning services and contraception are available from public health departments and federally qualified health centers that offer services on a sliding scale or receive state and federal funding to cover the cost of services for uninsured patients. In several counties, public clinics may be the most accessible source of contraceptive services. However, not all public clinics provide the full range of contraception services on a regular basis which may contribute to a wide variation in need across the state, and estimates of women receiving services in public clinics by county range from three percent to 66 percent of contraceptive need. Many factors may play into the level of need and the degree to which that need is met by clinics including household incomes, rates of insurance and uninsurance in the county, clinicians per capita available, and hours of clinic operation.
Mississippians relying on publicly funded clinics for family planning and contraception use the most effective methods of contraception less than women in other states.
Sources
- Guttmacher Institute. Guttmacher Institute Data Center. (2014). Retrieved from: https://data.guttmacher.org/states
- Source: Health Resources and Services Administration. 2017 Health Center Program Grantee Data. (2017). Mississippi State Department of Health. (2018).
