Employer-based family planning projects : past guidance and future implications

This paper assesses employer-based programs initiated under USAID"s Enterprise, Technical Information on Population for the Private Sector (TIPPS), and Promoting Financial Investment and Transfers (PROFIT) projects and makes recommendations for future initiatives. Following an introduction, Section 2 provides brief descriptions of the programs, which fall under five types: providing direct technical and financial subsidies to individual employers; conducting business analyses to attract employer participation; linking private providers and employers; "mainstreaming" FP/maternal child health services into managed health care systems; and working through business and professional associations. (Appendix A contains more program details and presents results where available). Section 3 summarizes lessons which these experiences have taught regarding employers, health insurance providers and managed care arrangements, linking providers and employers, working through umbrella business or professional organizations, future program design, program implementation, and evaluation. Key elements of a framework to guide future employer-based program directions are sketched in conclusion. Includes bibliography.