Cost of Contraception

Parent Cafe
21

<p>Tatin, your comment is unbelievable. The health benefits to me of the pill aren’t substitutable by having my partner wear a condom.</p>

22

<p>I second Pizzagirls response…often times people forget that many women are on the BCPs for reasons beyond simple contraception. Lets also not forget that studies have shown very dramatic ovarian cancer protection by taking BCP for even 6 months.
My cost: $30 per Rx (translates to 3 months of uninterrupted pills) and $15 copay per year for PCP annual and pap. (now if I venture out to the “specialist” ob/gyn doc my co-pay shoots up to $50…ouch)</p>

23

<p>Oh, people don’t “forget.” they know it.</p>

24

<p>College clinic has BCPs for $15 per month. That’s without insurance.</p>

<p>I’ve always wondered if we should calculate also the cost of having a period. That seems to be another $12 to $15 per month for supplies!</p>

25

<p>I take BC for a medical condition (PCOS) and pay $30 for one pack. It is the generic brand too. Paying $360/year is a good estimate. I know some people who pay less than me and know some people who pay a lot more.</p>

26

<p>mdemvizi, that’s interesting - that’s exactly what I used to pay in the late 80s. While my FIL was still practicing, he would send me samples for free, but I had to promise him to get a yearly gyn. checkup. It was great having a FIL I was so comfortable with that I could talk to him about contraception, pregnancy, childbirth, etc.!</p>

27

<p>Mom22039: Ha ha, no kidding! That stuff adds up for D—an expense our S doesn’t have.</p>

<p>Would love it if D’s college clinic even had BCP’s (especially at that price!). But, it’s a catholic college. Would also add, we were very aware going into college that BC on campus would not be offered. Sure would have been more convenient, but not a deal breaker for us.</p>

28

<p>I know I’m not a parent but my BCP comes out to about $9/mo, so these high prices are a real shock to me.</p>

29

<p>My father pays $50 every three months for my BCP, so about $16.67 per month. My body can only handle the lowest dosage, though, so I’m not sure if that makes a difference.</p>

30

<p>Most of the posters are reciting their costs (co-pays) under their insurance plans. Ms. Fluke was testifying about the cost of contraceptive pills when there is no insurance coverage for them at all.</p>

31

<p>My co-pay is $10 for my generic pills. For the same pills when I didn’t have insurance, it was about $70/month… that was about 5 years ago.</p>

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<p>No. Regular generic pills work just fine. I’ve been using them since I was 14 and trust me, the name brand don’t work any better than generic for cysts. </p>

<p>Perhaps that figure is without insurance. Even generic can run that much without insurance.</p>

32

<p>Will somebody please put me in a time machine and transport me back to 2012, because I don’t like it here in the 1940’s, at all. Do we even have TV yet, or are we still listening to a gigantic radio?</p>

<p><a href=“http://www-scf.usc.edu/~nicoleg/history.htm[/url]”>http://www-scf.usc.edu/~nicoleg/history.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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33

<p>The $1000 was the cost without insurance. That is, the young woman had health insurance through her college, Georgetown, but the health insurance doesn’t cover birth control. That was the entire point of Ms. Fluke’s testimony, the entire issue: the Affordable Care Act will now require Catholic businesses who offer health insurance to include birth control, and some people believe Catholic businesses should not be required to cover birth control.</p>

34

<p>Last year we were paying about $90 for a 3 month supply of BCP (had to get the 3 mo supply), this year same one is $190/3 mo supply due to insurance change. Luckily we were able to find another low dosage in generic (still had to get it in a 3 mo supply), still trying to figure out the new insurance billing but think it’s about $20.</p>

35

<p>“Most of the posters are reciting their costs (co-pays) under their insurance plans. Ms. Fluke was testifying about the cost of contraceptive pills when there is no insurance coverage for them at all.”</p>

<p>Apparently the Georgetown ladies are not informed enough (or don’t want to do a bit of exercise) to visit the 3 Planned Parenthood clinics within walking distance. Where they can get pills as low as $15/month, no insurance coverage required, if their income is low enough. Maybe that’s too much exercise or effort for them? I’m a big supporter of PP, but some people think it is too lower class for them.</p>

<p>My pills are $7.50 for a 3 month supply, mail in order. I don’t see a reason why generic wouldn’t do for anyone. What would ever be the reason that you’d need a brand name?</p>

36

<p>I know it’s only wikipedia, but it is accurate:</p>

<p>[Planned</a> Parenthood - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_Parenthood]Planned”>Planned Parenthood - Wikipedia)</p>

<p>from the article:</p>

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<p>I really have no clue how those 12 clinics for the entire 2 states of Texas and Louisana are supposed to serve all the women with BCP needs, medical and reproductive, combined. 820 health centers in 50 states. Sounds like a long drive for a lot of women. Heck! It’s a long drive from here to the nearest PP and we live near a major city.</p>

37

<p>In Washington state, at least three PP clinics have closed.</p>

<p>[States</a> slash birth control subsidies as federal debate rages](<a href=“States slash birth control subsidies as federal debate rages | Reuters”>States slash birth control subsidies as federal debate rages | Reuters)
Other states have cut funding to the point that it is a hardship to frequent a clinic for many poor women.</p>

38

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<p>Many a pregnancy has occurred because the woman relied on the man to take care of contraception. </p>

<p>Condoms may provide STD protection, but they sure as heck don’t provide ovarian-cyst protection, which after all was the main point of Ms. Fluke’s testimony. A lot of people seem not to have actually listened to what she said, preferring to rely on the vile mischaracterization put forth by a certain lying, disgusting radio personality.</p>

<p>Is it a violation of the TOS to talk about boycotts?</p>

39

<p>I experienced treatment for a significant gynecological issue while essentially uninsured within the last decade. (Actually, we were paying $400/mo for a policy with a $15K deductible, so it was the worst of both worlds.)</p>

<p>First, during an emergency room visit, I experienced the joys of a D&C without anesthetic. (It would have cost $3000 just to step into the OR. Having it done in the OR under general anesthesia “because the women kept screaming” was standard practice, but as the attending OB/GYN said, “You seem pretty stoic.” This was after several other painful procedures.)</p>

<p>I was put on BCP. I don’t recall exactly how much it cost, but I think it was in the neighborhood of $50-60 per month. I remained on them for a year, at which point I had to have an OB/GYN appointment to have the prescription renewed. Since an OB/GYN appt would cost me well over $200, which I did not have, I went off the pill right then and there. Luckily, the extended uncontrolled bleeding that had caused the GP’s office to send me to the ER on a Saturday did not recur.</p>

<p>BTW, I feel compelled to point out that this entire debate is yet another issue that would be entirely solved by single-payer, universal health coverage not tied to employment.</p>

40

<p>FWIW I googled and found Sandra Fluke’s testimony on the ABC News web site. Her testimony is interesting. She has an amazing TV presence, but I am not swayed by the argument she presents. Georgetown is a Catholic institution. Surely she and her classmates knew that when they applied? </p>

<p>That 3k figure was a 3year cost. It does seem that there are other options available (planned parenthood in post 35), $4 generics at Walmart, etc.</p>