Wide Open Wallet
An honest look at family finances
Guest Post: Birth control and health insurance
Author: Ashley4 Aug
This is a guest post from Living Almost Large. We traded posts about our thoughts on health insurance. My thoughts on Medical Savings Accounts are posted over at her site. I hope you enjoy them both!
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I was contemplating about medical care and health insurance, and how only the US is birth control not free.
Paying for birth control?
Why is it that if you have medical insurance in the US, a woman still has to pay for birth control? It seems interesting that the health insurance industry, will charge women a monthly co-pay for birth control. I mean everyone knows it’s cheaper to prevent pregnancy than it is to actually have a child. Of course that is not even including covering all medical costs and insurance on the child from age 0 to 18.
So then why is birth control in the US not only strictly regulated but expensive to boot? I see many women on tight budgets who cannot easily afford the $20 or $30/month co-pay, yet having a child would be more strenuous on the family finances than preventing bringing another child into the world.
Shouldn’t insurance companies prefer to give away free birth control because they save money by not having to insure another family member? I have to wonder if part of the reason for “unplanned” pregnancies is people being “thrifty” and trying to use less expensive methods of birth control than a monthly hormonal contraceptive? And said methods don’t work as well?
I am all for frugal living, but birth control should be the last place you scrimp on. And if so many women are trying to prevent hurting themselves and their families financially by not having kids, why are insurance companies making it so costly?
Every other socialized and westernized country makes birth control free. They view it as a form of population control on our already overburdened planet. So what is driving this? Is it the view that it’s wrong to prevent conception?
What do others think? Should it be free and covered by insurance? And more affordable for those without insurance?
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14 Responses for "Guest Post: Birth control and health insurance"
Your second to last paragraph explains birth control is free in other countries - “Every other SOCIALIZED and westernized country” We aren’t a socialized country, if you make the choice to have sex you either have to accept the responsibility of having a baby, or paying for birth control. Neither the government nor insurance companies, not pharmaceutical companies should have to pay for your choice to have sex. We have to take responsibility for our actions, that is what sets America apart from the world, freedom to make choice without the government telling you what to do.
[...] guest post for Ashely at Wide Open Wallet is up here. It’s asking why does only the US charge for Birth Control? Share and [...]
Great article… one other thing worth mentioning though- a lot of insurance companies that don’t cover birth control DO cover Viagra (there’s a petition about this very issue here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/951224683)
How’s that for equality between the sexes!
@ Mike: The thing is, when people don’t use birth control and have more kids than they can reasonably care for, the government ends up footing the bill in the form of welfare, food stamps, medical insurance, and so on–WAY more expensive than some oral contraceptives. In my opinion, it’s prevention versus reaction, and prevention is always going to be cheaper. I agree though that personal responsibility comes into play here in a big way. In my job I see women getting pregnant who absolutely cannot care or pay for another child. I try not to judge because I never know all the circumstances, but it’s sad to see families struggling so much.
@ LivingAlmostLarge: Great post. I don’t think not using contraceptives is necessarily the result of people trying to be thrifty. I think it’s a combination of lack of information, bad choices, and in some very unfortunate cases, lack of choice on the woman’s part. Access isn’t as big of a problem these days, at least not in urban areas. In the office where I work, we give away free condoms and lube to anyone who wants it. These days you can find free condoms in lots of places. That still leaves control in the man’s hands unfortunately, but until microbicides are FDA-approved (many, many years off) women won’t have the upper hand in contraceptives and HIV/STD prevention. Not to get too off-topic…
“Is it the view that it’s wrong to prevent conception?” I think you hit the nail on the head there. When you see people advocating against rape victims/survivors getting emergency contraception in rape kits to prevent pregnancy, you know the issue is loaded! Some people consider oral contraceptives and EC (which is just a high dose of contraceptive) a form of abortion. Obviously I disagree strongly.
Viagra is a prescription to remedy a medical condition, erectile dysfunction. Birth control is not a remedy to a condition, but rather a precaution for pregnancy. Insurance companies insure against medical conditions, they don’t pay out to cover expenses for a personal choice, having sex when not wanting to get pregnant.
Fitwallet: I agree the government gets stuck with the bill when people have babies they can’t afford. But wouldn’t it be easier to teach personal responsibility then hand out birth control. The government is not intended to be an insurance plan to bail you out when you make bad decisions. However, that is what democrats are trying to make the government. It is time for Americans to take responsibility for their actions (ie: don’t have unprotected sex if you can’t afford kids that may result from it) and not look to the government for a bailout.
What about us married women who don’t want to pop out another kid every year? My husband and I aren’t ready financially or personally to have kids and we know it. The way some people talk, it sounds like we’re supposed to either give up marital relations or pop out a kid a year. If that’s the argument, then they should just say what they mean, that they think sex should only be for procreation, period. But it’s evidently more popular to focus the debate on the sexual habits of teens and call them dumb or irresponsible then to tell adults that they’re not allowed to have sex unless they want kids and they want them now.
And what about those who are taking medications or have medical issues that make it highly likely that any unplanned pregnancies would end badly? Pregnancy might not be a disease, but even for healthy adults pregnancy is hard on one’s body and has many risks — another good reason women shouldn’t be forced to chose between abstinence or popping out a dozen kids.
Birth control isn’t just about letting teens have sex with fewer consequences. It’s a concern for all men and women who have sex, not to mention everyone else who has to face the consequences of not just unwanted children but also the many issues raised by unwanted pregnancy itself. Let’s not forget how important birth control has been in helping women compete with men in the work force, enabling us not just to have fulfilling careers aside from motherhood, but also to support ourselves and our families without having to depend on men (and particularly abusive ones).
Now, I know that we can pay for our own birth control. However, what bothers me is 1. that so many people still want to take away birth control altogether, 2. that the birth control debate seems to focus so much on shaming minors who make ‘bad decisions’ instead of on giving choices to consenting (and often married) adults, and 3. that it seems that both in the government and even in private insurance companies, ideology is often more important than what should be basic financial sense — not to mention a bit more compassion for all the women out there who can’t afford the birth control but can’t afford to get pregnant, either.
It’s funny how Mike’s libertarian ideology ends up sounding so much like the Vatican’s approach to sex, particularly with comments like this:
>But wouldn’t it be easier to teach personal responsibility then hand out birth control.
No, not in the real world, not if “personal responsibility” is defined as abstaining from sex with one’s spouse because one is short of money that month. That is not easy at all, even for diligent people with good self-control, and the consequences for a single slip-up can be very large indeed.
Contraception for fertile people with opposite-sex partners (which is a huge percentage of the population) is basic health care, and there is nothing unreasonable about expecting a health plan to cover it, particularly because it saves the insurance company money. To the extent that US health care is a free market, this is a market failure.
Birth control isn’t free in Australia; it’s about $10AU a month?
That said, it is subsidised by our Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, and if you’re on a pension/welfare it’s only a couple of dollars.
Actually, it is free to those who have lower income, just go to your local health department. I live in a small city in Iowa, and have lived in an even smaller city in Wisconsin, and they will hand you free b/c and do your exams for free also.
In MN if you are a college student, you automatically qualify for the free birth control.
Check into your local department of health. I bet its just that they do not advertise that this is a cheap/free service that they can offer you…
There is no such thing as free. Someone has to pay for it.
If the insurance company pays for it, which they generally do, they pass the costs on to the policyholder.
If the government pays for it, the costs, plus the bureaucracy, get passed on to the taxpayer.
I am not opposed to the government providing birth control at no charge, but please, let’s not call it free.
Don
http://mtnhealthinsurance.com
Well I guess personal responsibility is cool, but heck have you seen the rising rate of AIDS in people between 18-25? All heterosexuals who are the fastest growing group of people contracting AIDS?
These people should be using condom which can be free from planned parenthood, but they don’t. And since STDs in general are on the rise, then obviously people aren’t practicing safe sex.
Also, consider that people who need birth control are people who have children but don’t want more. Or those in monogamous relationships but don’t want kids?
Sure the cost has to be taken over somewhere, but why should it be the consumer? It costs way more for AIDS medication, wel baby care, etc, than just preventing the problems.
[...] guest post at WideOpenWallet “Birth Conrol and US healthcare“ Share and [...]
[...] Birth control and health insurance By Ashley Why is it that if you have medical insurance in the US, a woman still has to pay for birth control? It seems interesting that the health insurance industry, will charge women a monthly co-pay for birth control. … Wide Open Wallet - http://wideopenwallet.com [...]
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