Bay

Portgrl,
I don't understand the point of your last post. All of my private plans have charged a co-pay for bcps. Why did they do this if not charging saves money? I'd like to know if anyone knows the answer to that.

FutureWeatherman

@ Hunt Thanks for the link. Guess that "moots" my point then, eh? But I still have trouble believing that it wouldn't be covered already if it was beneficial for the insurance companies.

cartera45

FutureWeatherman, it is already covered by over half the states. Insurance companies are not known to be a very proactive group.

mom2collegekids

Alh quote "While I, personally, prefer barrier methods to pills, patches, implants or shots..."

Why? Because you suspect these things really are more dangerous than we're being told? I think so.

But...I think there's too many people that really, really, really want their women to bear the BC burden, so that info is being squelched. Swallowing unnecessary hormones for 3 weeks of every month, year in and year out, cannot be healthy (or having them shoved into your arm for a constant artificial stream.)

What kills me is that the same women who won't even take one Tylenol pill when they're pregnant, will put their own health at a much, much greater risk by taking long term un-needed hormone pills. (I applaud their concern for their unborn child, but one tylenol isn't dangerous.)

FutureWeatherman

^^^^ I see where you're coming from, mom. Very interesting take (from someone who doesn't really like BCP's either, though I am a male, so my opinion is moot)

Hunt

I just tried, and failed, to find a health insurance trade association that had made a statement on the issue of covering birth control without copay. The main such association says nothing about it on it website. If anybody else can find one, I'd sure be interested.

emeraldkity4

Don't know anyone who won't take Tylenol.
I agree that if you don't need contraception 24/7 there are healthier options- if less effective than birth control pills. Although there can be health benefits for some women with the pills as well.

claremarie

"Regarding the current US fertility rate, it has decreased over the years (with some dips and bumps), to the point where it is lower than the replacement rate. This would indicate that US women are not having trouble controlling their fertility under status quo conditions."

That is a good point. All of those "unintended" pregnancies (at least, those that are not ended by abortion) don't seem to be resulting in larger families.

Hunt

But aren't they, in fact, ending in abortion a lot of the time? And aren't health insurers paying for those abortions, or at least for the complications from abortion?

I don't envy the rhetorical moves a person has to make who opposes both abortion and contraception. They are quite convoluted, and I don't think they're ever going to convince anybody who doesn't agree with them on religious grounds--and most religious people in the US don't oppose contraception.

sryrstress

I think the fertility rate is lower than the replacement rate for whites. I don't know about blacks, and I read that is not true for Hispanics. I don't have the cite right now, but I do recall reading that. My guess is that population is among those most likely to be uninsured. They are also likely to be Catholic, and more "conservatively" Catholic than the US population at large. Could be interesting how all those factors affect our topic of discussion.

claremarie

"There are plenty of poorly educated low, income women who have group health care plans. A large institution employs people of all education and income levels. Many of these women have little disposable income and, if insurance doesn't cover something, they are not going to get it - even if it is what most of us would call cheap."

Well, let's talk about these statements. To begin with, low-income women are far less likely to be enrolled in employer-provided health insurance than are wealthier women, for the obvious reasons -- not working, employer doesn't offer health insurance, or can't afford the insurance. That's why we have such a large uninsured population, remember.

And consider that low-income women are also far more likely than their wealthier sisters to be smokers. Some 25% of women living BELOW the poverty level are smokers. Somehow, even with their limited disposable income, they find ways to purchase cigarettes, which, on a monthly basis, actually cost them more than birth control pills. These women have revealed their preferences, and birth control pills don't seem to be high on the priority list.

Hunt

Unless you oppose contraception on moral grounds, what you've just stated is a reason to give birth control to these women for free, not the opposite.

alh

#799 My point was that I don't want to tell other women how to live. I want them to have a variety of options and choose what is best, in their minds, for their own circumstances. If they want the pill, I want them to have it.

Educating women as to the variety of birth control methods available and possible, including checking cervical mucus, seems desirable. Educating them about potential health risks of various methods also seems desirable. However, it would be presumptuous of me to advocate certain birth control choices for any other woman, include daughters.

And there isn't a one size fits all solution.

Ultrasounds have been discussed on this thread. I refused ultrasounds when I was pregnant. That was a personal choice, I would never try to persuade another woman to make.

I support midwives, home birth, etc. It would be rather ridiculous for me to persuade others that my beliefs should be the norm and try to impose them on society.

If you want to start a thread about how sexism impacts women's health care in this country, I would be delighted to participate.

emeraldkity4

Somehow, even with their limited disposable income, they find ways to purchase cigarettes, which, on a monthly basis, actually cost them more than birth control pills.

I agree addiction is a terrible thing.
When I would go for my ob/gyn care at the local hospital, I commented to my Dr about the obviously pregnant patients smoking cigarettes just outside the doors. She replied that it was preferable to what they were using before they were admitted.

sad to be in that place where you need drugs to get through your life.

FutureWeatherman

Hunt, it seems to me that she's saying that cigarettes are more important to those people than making sure they're protected with BCP for when they do it. That almost seems like a reason to not give it for free.