Obamacare Reduces Out Of Pocket Costs For Birth Control Pills, Saves Women Hundreds Annually
Reproductive health care experts and advocates have been quick to point out the many ways in which the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, has benefitted women — and now there’s some scientific proof.
A new report published in the journal Health Affairs found Obamacare’s mandate that private health insurance plans cover all FDA-approved birth control without co-pays or deductibles “has led to large reductions in total out-of-pocket spending on contraceptives.” The numbers are staggering: Women have saved nearly $13 or 38 percent on their birth control prescription, while also paying 68 percent less for IUD insertion; 93 percent less for emergency contraception; and 84 percent less for cervical caps and diaphragms when compared to prices just six months after the ACA rolled out in 2012.
"It turns out the law is doing exactly what the law says should be done," Dr. Nora Becker, lead study author and doctoral candidate at the Perelman School of Medicine and the department of health care management and economics in the Wharton School of Medicine, told Newsweek. "I was surprised by the speed at which we've seen a drop in price."
Becker estimated these lowered prices after analyzing a large insurance company’s prescription claims; she claimed it’s the first study to estimate the positive financial impact the ACA has had up until this point. These claims involved 790,895 women between the ages 13 and 45 from all 50 states, all of which who had been enrolled in private health insurance for at least a month during the years 2008-2013.
The Huffington Post, however, reported not all women have experienced lower out-of-pocket costs. They cited an investigation conducted by Kaiser Family Foundation that found “some insurers are using a loophole to evade the mandate’s requirements.” Others are enrolled in plans grandfathered under the ACA, in which they’re “not subject to the mandate.”
Even so, these numbers reaffirm Planned Parenthood’s idea that easily attainable birth control has a positive impact, especially financially. If the report isn’t convincing, just look to Colorado: After launching an initiative that provides women an IUD free of charge, their respective abortion and teen pregnancy rate have been cut in half.
Both reports come at a time when the House Appropriation Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies is proposing budget cuts for the Title X Family Planning Program during the 2016 fiscal year. It’s only about as much money as it costs to keep health care centers open, Dr. Leslie Kantor, the vice president of education for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, previously told Medical Daily — but it could be considered a severe step back.
Source: Becker, N.V., and Polsky D. Women Saw Large Decrease In Out-Of-Pocket Spending For Contraceptives After ACA Mandate Removed Cost Sharing. Health Affairs. 2015.