Federal Health Services Grants

Abstract

FEDERAL HEALTH SERVICES grants are again in a period of transition. These programs have experienced many changes since they were established on a continuing basis almost 50 years ago by the Social Security Act of 1935. The proposal of President Reagan in February 1981 that most of these activities be consolidated into "block grants" began a new phase of development. The initial action of the Congress on the President's proposal, that was completed in July 1981, indicated a willingness to approve some, but not all, of the proposed changes in direction and emphasis. Federal grants for the development and support of State and local health services have served many purposes. A primary aim of many was to stimulate and

Family planning needs: An empirical study of federal responsiveness before and during the Reagan Administration

“…In other words, the likelihood that a low-income woman would receive family planning services became more dependent upon her state of residence than before. Studies of other health programs have suggested that when the level of categorical support (e.g., Title X) decreased, the degree of added state support depended on such factors as the state's previous experience with the program and "the nature of the local constituency" (Zwick, 1986;Bovbjerg & Davis, 1983). Instead of enhancing the responsiveness to local needs, federal grants became more responsive to existing state level constituencies.…”