We have just seen a change that will fundamentally impact our culture for years and years to come. As part of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, by 2014 all new health insurance policies under the Exchange will cover all types of birth control with no co-pay. This is sound fiscal policy—for every $1 spent on contraception, taxpayers save $3.74 in public funding. In other words investments in birth control saves you money, America!
Now, discussing co-pays and legislation sounds very dry sometimes, but the real-world effects of this change are going to be felt by many women and their families across this nation very soon. This decision means that the college student won’t have to dip into her grocery money in order to pay for her pill pack; that a woman struggling to make ends meet and support her family will be able to afford her prescription; and the woman interested in a long-acting method like and IUD will be able to get it and not be stopped by the initial expense (these methods often cost much less over time, are highly effective and easily reversible).
Making birth control easier to get just makes sense. When women use birth control there are far fewer unintended pregnancies. Not surprisingly the countries where birth control is easiest to get also have the lowest rates of unintended pregnancy.
The bottom line is that removing cost barriers so that a woman can access birth control throughout her life time is good policy. The average woman spends 30 years of her life trying to avoid pregnancy; women know that planned pregnancies lead to happier, healthier families. Readily available birth control is a crucial step in making this happen.
