In a real life example of putting your money where your mouth is, the Colorado legislature passed and Governor Ritter signed into law a bill that would expand Medicaid to cover an additional 100,000 uninsured individuals in the state. Pending approval from the federal government, the state would impose a fee on hospitals to raise the necessary funds, which the federal government would then match, to cover the cost.

Why are we so concerned about what our friends in the Wild West are doing, you ask? Because Medicaid is by far the largest source of funding for family planning services in the United States--it accounted for fully 71 percent of all state and federal spending on family planning in 2006--and these publicly funded services are critical to our ability to reduce this nation's stubbornly high rates of unplanned pregnancy. Expanding access to family planning means better maternal and child health outcomes, significant savings for taxpayers and government alike, and reducing the need for abortion by preventing unintended pregnancy. But I'm preaching to the choir (and if not, here's a cheat sheet).

Read more about our love affair with Medicaid here.

When President Obama rolled out his budget blueprint yesterday, he said "we are making a historic commitment to comprehensive health care reform. It's a step that will not only make families healthier and companies more competitive, but over the long term it will also help us bring down our deficit."

We hope this critically important effort will include helping people plan for healthy pregnancies and avoid unplanned pregnancies (of which there are 3 million each year). There is abundant evidence that doing so will improve the health and well-being of children and families. And, study after study shows that it will also save money--for taxpayers and employers.

Should be a no brainer, right? Well, yes, but first our leaders need to get over two things: the fear factor and the joke factor. Family planning is more than mainstream: 98% of sexually active women use some form of family planning. It is a key part of women's lives and health. Consider this: the typical American woman spends five years pregnant or trying to become pregnant and three decades trying to avoid pregnancy.

And, it has broad public support: 88% of voters support women's access to contraception. In fact, a recent poll by Public Strategies Inc. found that 72% of Republicans and Independents favor legislation that would make it easier for people at all income levels to obtain contraception.  The American people get this and the President does too, which is why his budget takes an important step to help more states provide family planning through Medicaid.

So, enough of the talk show jokes and smirks. Let's get serious and help do something that is common sense, promotes responsibility, improves health, and saves money.