A quick and dirty survey for women....

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I would rather see the government provide birth control than abortions. Many insurances still will not cover bc, when, in the long run, it's so much cheaper!

This comment was made on another thread and I am really curious. I'm 51 years old, have been employed since I was 21 and fully insured by all my employers since then.

I have NEVER had an insurance company deny my birth control and I utilized it for most of those 30 years.

Am I that unusual? What are other's experiences?

[Deleted]

I used a diaphragm till I met DH (who's been snipped). I can't remember but I assume that insurance covered the diaphragm. The goo you put on it was non-prescription so I covered that out of pocket. Not very expensive.

[BeenThere...DoneThat...]

...well, you can't buy condoms with your insurance, or even with your FSA... maybe this contributed to the quote?

[michelyn8]

Most of the insurance I've ever had only covered BC if needed for medical reasons (ie: control heavy bleeding). If it was for straight BC, then they wouldn't cover. I went on BC pills for menstrual problems after my tubal ligation in my mid-20's and I had to have the Dr. verify it was for that medical reason before my insurance would cover it.

I've never understood why some won't cover it - $25/month for prevention is a lot less expensive than the several thousand for pre-natal and birthing expenses.

[resolution]

My birth control has always been covered, but a lot of my friends weren't back in the 90's. I think it is more common now because of the fuss that women's organizations put on when Viagra was covered by more insurers than the Pill was.

[steph08]

Mine is covered by my health insurance and all I have to pay is the regular copay. I never had to give any reason for being on it so it doesn't really seem to matter.

But it wasn't covered under my parents' health insurance before so I had to pay full price for it - I think about $50.

Very strange.

[Gardening Grandma]

I never had BC covered. And kari is right on. It's generally covered now because of the activism of women's groups back in the 90's.

[telephus44]

I have always seen those statistics too - more plans cover Viagra than birth control - but in every insurance plan I've been on, BC has always been covered. The only issue I had was one plan didn't cover my Depo shot, because it was a "3 month supply" and they only covered a "1 month supply." Try explaining that it's 1 shot every three months - no, they don't get it.

[qofcc]

I remember it wasn't covered in the early 90's, but I know it's covered under my plan now. BC pills are available as generics starting at $5/mo and they even cover the Minera IUD for just the cost of the doctor visit co-pay.

[CarolinaKat]

WOW! My insurance covers lots of BC options.... the pill (generics) is $5... This was the same back when I was in HS and on my parent's insurance

I had a friend who's copper IUD wasn't covered.... but they did reimburse her for it b/c hormonal birth control (implants and pills) make her non-functional. It took a while to get the claim approved though

ETA: according to our HDP at work, birth control is one of the few preventative meds that's covered 100% before the deductible is met...i just checked

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

The most I have ever paid for my BCPs was $40 for a 3 month supply. That was about 8 years ago, before I didn't need them anymore (S/O is also snipped). However, I always left the doctor with a 6 month supply in a bag from samples so ultimately my OOP cost for the year would be half that. Even back in the 1980s, I had a mail order pharmacy plan and it was $15 for a 3 month supply.

[Wisconsin Beth]

Apr 7, 2011 7:45:30 GMT -5 michelyn8 said:

Most of the insurance I've ever had only covered BC if needed for medical reasons (ie: control heavy bleeding). If it was for straight BC, then they wouldn't cover. I went on BC pills for menstrual problems after my tubal ligation in my mid-20's and I had to have the Dr. verify it was for that medical reason before my insurance would cover it.

I've never understood why some won't cover it - $25/month for prevention is a lot less expensive than the several thousand for pre-natal and birthing expenses.

I was diagnosed as Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome (pcos) and put on bcp for that. Copay was $4 most of the time. I found out after being on bcp for about 10 years that there was some kind of tier for medical condition vs. actual birth control But I also suspect most doctors were fudging their diagnoses a bit to make sure it was covered... Which also explains, in part, the skyrocketing of women diagnosed with pcos in the last 15 years.

[travelnut11]

BC has always been covered for me but I didn't get my first job until 1999 (and in college student health services provided it for cheap) so maybe I missed the era when it wasn't regularly covered. The only friend I can think of who didn't get it covered worked in a lab in a Catholic hospital. They very clearly would not be paying for any sort of birth control.

I always find the irony of the right-wingers who don't want to fund Planned Parenthood so ridiculous. Yes, I get that PP provides abortions but that's about 1% of their services. The rest is BC and STD testing. Obviously the best way to prevent abortion is to prevent pregnancy but that fact seems lost on a lot of people.

[973beachbum]

Ditto on the it was never covered unless it was to correct a medical condition not to stop one that should happen in a fully functioning one. Ironicaly most of the plans covered infirtility for that exact reason, as well as meds and things for ED.

I think there were state laws that started to be enacted in the last 10 years that the womens groups pushed for. I used to work for a health insurance company and I doubt it is for any other reason.

[973beachbum]

Yes, I get that PP provides abortions but that's about 1% of their services. The rest is BC and STD testing. Obviously the best way to prevent abortion is to prevent pregnancy but that fact seems lost on a lot of people.

Just so we are clear the Federal Government doesn't pay for any of the services related to abortions.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

The first time I had insurance it was not covered because I worked for a Catholic Jesuit university. My current prescription plan only covers the pill, it does not cover any other form of birth control.

My MEDICAL insurance covered the IUD.

[Deleted]

I had a private insurance that did not cover BC. Since I had DS the cheaper forms of BC do not work (including IUD - very long story) so now I have a $50 copay every 3 weeks.

I'm not sure about insurance covering BC for most people but there are a heck of a lot women of child bearing age who are uninsured.

[Pants]

Mine is covered now, but that was not always the case. It wasn't covered under my first couple of insurance plans until IL made a law that required insurers to cover it.

[cael]

When I took pills, it was always covered. I had a few insurance companies and employers after I started on the pill and my co-pays for a month ran from $10 to $15 I think. Almost 2 years ago I got the Mirena - insurance covered it, just paid the office co-pay, and I don't have to worry about bc for 5 years unless I want it out sooner! It's great! I never had any problems with my insurance and bc pills.

[Deleted]

Every insurance I was ever under covered BC, the times I was uninsured I went to Family Planning or the campus healthcare and got my prescription filled for super cheap.

[qofcc]

I always find the irony of the right-wingers who don't want to fund Planned Parenthood so ridiculous. Yes, I get that PP provides abortions but that's about 1% of their services. The rest is BC and STD testing. Obviously the best way to prevent abortion is to prevent pregnancy but that fact seems lost on a lot of people.

I went to Catholic school for Junior High. We had a unit on sex education taught by a priest. They really drilled into us how abortion was murder. They also told us that sex outside of marriage was a sin and we shouldn't do it, but realistically, people are weak and they sin and if we were going to do it anyway, we needed to protect ourselves from unplanned pregnancy to avoid the greater sin of abortion and they went on to teach about the different methods in a very clinical and academic manner. I thought they handled that very well conveying the necessary information without condoning it.

[HoneyBBQ]

Apr 7, 2011 7:44:49 GMT -5 @daphne87 said:

Insurance generally covers it -- but the co-pay is often pretty high. I remember my co-pay for BCPs being $40 but the pills were only $35.99.

yep, mine was $49.99 and I had to pay $44.99. And this was when I had EXCELLENT insurance and worked at a hospital. They covered almost 100% of everything else... just not BC.

[DVM gone riding]

I have only ever had to pay the std $10 co pay

[Deleted]

I just had to pay the co-pay for mine ($10-15, depending on my insurance at the time). Under DH's state insurance I only paid $3!

IMO it would be dumb for insurance companies to NOT insure BC measures. Babies cost much more than the $40-50 cost for my monthly pills!

[Deleted]

I don't think all insurance covers maternity - at least it didn't used to.

[pepper112765]

My co-pay for my pills is $70.00. I get a 3-month supply at a time. I remember my purse was stolen once and the pills were in it and my insurance wouldn't authorize for me to get another pack even though I pay most of the cost. Decisions to restrict women's reproductive health and the autonomy of women to make choices based upon ideology instead of practicality is amazing to me.

[Deleted]

mine (DH's) covers my ob/gyn visits and most all of the hospital costs. I only paid for the first 1 or 2 visits.

[Apple]

Wow, my thoughts turned into a new thread I was responding to someone that wanted to see abortions provided by the gov, moral issues aside.

My insurance never covered it, if I remember right, or if it did I still had a $30 copay. I still had to take it many times after having my tubes tied, so at that point it was completely medical, but still paid $30 a month for it. I haven't looked at state plans (such as the Oregon Health Plan) recently, but I don't *think* that covered bc, I could be wrong.

After having my tubes tied, ablation and two hysterectomies (they didn't take enough out the first time , had to go back in to get the rest) I finally have no need for bcp, YAY! I only had to pay my copay for those (deductible plus 10% of cost).

[Deleted]

Depending on the state you are in the local medicaid program will pay for abortions.

[Deleted]

coming from a completely financial standpoint, I think if you're on welfare the state should pay for abortions.