Considerations for Expanding Access to Family Planning through Health Insurance for Garment Workers in Bangladesh

The ready-made garment industry is the largest employer of women in Bangladesh. The prospect of facilitating access to and lowered costs of family planning products and services via affordable insurance can therefore have a significant impact on the contraceptive options of millions of female employees in the garment sector—and, by extension, on the productivity and growth of the sector. This report presents considerations for health insurers in Bangladesh regarding the potential addition of family planning products and services to benefits packages for female workers in the country’s garment sector. Based on document review, stakeholder consultations, and a survey of garment workers, the report first summarizes findings on the demand for family planning by women working in the sector. It then examines seven design considerations that health insurers may want to take into account as they contemplate the option of adding to benefits packages family planning services that can be delivered with high quality and no out-of-pocket costs. The report draws on lessons from efforts to add family planning to benefits packages in other low-resource settings and highlights how the provision of a broad range of family planning services to workers would accrue benefits for both the workforce and corporate growth.

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