Federal authorities are approving a 10-year extension for the family planning services that Mississippi offers to some lower-income teens and adults who don't get the assistance from any other kind of health insurance.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Thursday that it was the first 10-year extension that it has ever granted for such a program, saying it will allow Mississippi to avoid the inconvenience of obtaining federal approval.

CMS Administrator Seema Verma says the move shows the agency is trying to give states flexibility.

Mississippi's Medicaid family planning program covers women and men between the ages of 13 and 44 with incomes up to nearly two times the federal poverty level. Beneficiaries can get up to four family planning visits a year, contraceptives, lab tests and counseling.