why is contraception(for women) so damn expensive

[the_std]

Yeah, I pay $30 every two months for my birth control, and that's completely without insurance. It works out pretty well. Then again, I am Canadian.

[Fashion Lad!]

Is $30-50 a month without insurance?

A 12-pack of condoms can cost $10-$15.

Or, if you're me and you have an allergy to latex, then you can easily pay 2.5x as much. And usually those only come in packs of 6.

A condom will protect you against pregnancy and STDs. But, from what my girlfriend tells me, (I never want to hear the details) birth control pills do so much more.

I know there are doctor fees and all that fun stuff, but isn't that part of your early checkup anyway??

[crazylegs]

Ah, BC is free in the UK under the NHS...

While not everyone will use the free condoms/contraceptive pill many do and for those who can't afford it it's great!

[AdminAssistant]

Is $30-50 a month without insurance?

....

I know there are doctor fees and all that fun stuff, but isn't that part of your early checkup anyway??

Generally, yes. Although, before my particular prescription went generic, it was $25-ish/month with insurance. Now, at a regular pharmacy, it's $15.

With insurance, my yearly gyno exam usually ended up at $50. No telling how much that'd cost without insurance. Again, I'm lucky, I can go to the Student Clinic. Pap smears and such are done by a Nurse Practitioner, not a MD, but she's very nice, extremely well-trained, and does a very thorough sit down chat before the exam that none of the MD's I went to ever did. (Seriously, I was blushing trying to remember some of that stuff!!)

At any rate, a yearly Pap smear is pretty much a must, especially to continue getting oral contraceptive, but for those with no insurance, it's cost-prohibitive.

[lupo pazzesco]

Last semester there was a big brouhaha in the school paper about how college girls were complaining too much about the price of bc (there was some legislation brewing about upping the cost, I think, that caused this) and that if they were really that anal about it, they should go out and buy condoms themselves for the guy if they didn't want to get pregnant, because condoms protected from both pregnancy AND STDs, but bc didn't protect against disease.

This stemmed Lupo writing a rather scathing letter to the editor, because I'm on bc, yet I'm a virgin. it is NOT a contraceptive, for me it's hormone therapy, and a serious necessity for my health. And yet, I can pay for vicodin with a prescription for about $15 a month while the bc, even with the student health insurance is upwards of $25/month, depending on what brand you're on. That's just the price for the generic I use. It doesn't seem like a lot, but it can add up for a college student on a budget.

I think it's also amazing that insurance will cover most of the cost of any drug for ED, but not the same for contraceptives, whether they're being used as medically or as an actual contraceptive.

Like AdminAssistant, I can get the yearly done at the student health center for fairly cheap, but the prescription I require is a much higher dose than standard bc, so I have to get it for the $25-30 a month at the student pharmacy, (priced it at walmart and cvs, it's about $65 there and that's WITH insurance!) Yes, the yearly is necessary to continue a prescription for oral bc, but that's a separate issue from the cost of the pill itself. it slowly adds up, and it's ridiculous.

I just rambled/ranted all over the keyboard, so I hope some of that made sense.

[radiocerk]

Further stupid

I work in a pharmacy, and have now encounter two different insurance companies that will not cover OC's (oral contraceptives) unless the doctor has prescribed them for a reason other than birth control. It has to be for irregular cycles, excessive cramps, or some other "medical reason". I can't help but wonder how much the religious right has to do with that stupidity.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Ah, BC is free in the UK under the NHS...

While not everyone will use the free condoms/contraceptive pill many do and for those who can't afford it it's great!

I get free pills and buy condoms; the free ones don't come with the um, extras. Free pills = awesome.

[Fashion Lad!]

Is it really fair to compare the costs of other drugs to BC?

I'm on some pretty heavy anti-depressants (I won't list them) but for 3 months it costs me about $30. But, condoms for me still cost more depending on how much I have sex.

My percocet hasn't been costing too much. In fact, I don't think I've had to pay anything... but, I've been on a lot of percocet so I may not remember.

I think we even see a lot of varying costs in just over the counter meds. So, I think it'd be wrong to say, "my pain killers cost less than my BC, why?"

If insurance companies do cover ED meds (I don't know, I haven't had to check into that ) then they should also cover BC. I'm in total agreement with whomever said that.

(Note, I do not say that BC is cheap and you guys are complaining over nothing. I'm not saying that at all. I'm not saying it shouldn't be cheaper. Just playing devil's advocate. I always get bit when it comes to female issues talk)

[radiocerk]

There aren't many insurances that cover ED drugs, but the ones that do also cover BC, on my experience.

[BroomJockey]

Is it really fair to compare the costs of other drugs to BC?

I think so. After all, BC pills do more than just BC. The trick is comparing it to the proper other drugs. Something by prescription, commonly prescribed, and something that is prescribed on a continuing basis. Migraine meds, psychological, that kind of thing.

[Fashion Lad!]

I think so. After all, BC pills do more than just BC. The trick is comparing it to the proper other drugs. Something by prescription, commonly prescribed, and something that is prescribed on a continuing basis. Migraine meds, psychological, that kind of thing.

Even the costs of my anti-depressants can very depending on what brand I get. Of course, there are a few different types of anti-depressants. One type, the kind I take is $30 every 3 months. $10 a month. There was another kind I took, still in the same class and it was $61 every 3 months.

That's really comparing apples to apples.

While I don't argue BC is expensive, I just don't think it's fair to compare its costs to other medications. And we should argue why condoms are expensive. I truly do feel that both methods are right on par with each other.

I think the real reason is, who here doesn't like to have sex? Who here wants tons of babies? Precisely.

[lupo pazzesco]

Fashion Lad, in my case, I'm on BC because without it, I'm in horrendous amounts of pain on a daily basis, pain that used to be treated with vicodin (Hence my comparison to it), simply because until doctors figured out what exactly was wrong, level 1 narcotics that are highly regulated and counted essentially knocked me out/doped me up enough to deal with said pain. And it was cheaper than the pill I have to take regularly to deal with said problem.

When the price jumped from $15 to $30 a month, I questioned it and was told that's why condoms existed, if I really wanted contraceptives, yet that's not why I'm on the pill. So, while I see where you're coming form, oral contraceptives aren't just to prevent tons of babies. Yes, condoms are expensive, and we could argue the cost of those, but they serve 2 main purposes: prevention of pregnancy and disease. birth control is hormone control, acne treatment, migraine treatment (in some cases), regulation and control.

Yes, there are other meds that could treat said ailments, but the point of the thread is that oral contraceptives are proving to be more expensive, even for legitimate medical reasons, not just to prevent pregnancy. And yes, viagra IS covered, about 40% of prescription drugs for erectile dysfunction are covered by third party insurance companies (http://content.healthaffairs.org/cgi...t/19/2/147.pdf), it just varies how much of the cost is covered and how much is out of pocket., varies from plan to plan.

Birth control pills are less commonly covered, and in an ironic twist (if i recall my research correctly) abortions are covered, though, aren't they? That's something I need to go look up to verify, but I'm reasonably certain this is true. It's just the unfairness that I think irritates me to a degree, and the general assumption, in my experience, that one only goes on the pill because she doesn't want to get pregnant. When I start having sex, I don't care that I'm on the pill, whomever I sleep with wears a condom. End of story. My bc is a completely separate issue from sex.

[Fashion Lad!]

Fashion Lad, in my case, I'm on BC because without it, I'm in horrendous amounts of pain on a daily basis, pain that used to be treated with vicodin (Hence my comparison to it), simply because until doctors figured out what exactly was wrong, level 1 narcotics that are highly regulated and counted essentially knocked me out/doped me up enough to deal with said pain. And it was cheaper than the pill I have to take regularly to deal with said problem.

When the price jumped from $15 to $30 a month, I questioned it and was told that's why condoms existed, if I really wanted contraceptives, yet that's not why I'm on the pill. So, while I see where you're coming form, oral contraceptives aren't just to prevent tons of babies. Yes, condoms are expensive, and we could argue the cost of those, but they serve 2 main purposes: prevention of pregnancy and disease. birth control is hormone control, acne treatment, migraine treatment (in some cases), regulation and control.

Yes, there are other meds that could treat said ailments, but the point of the thread is that oral contraceptives are proving to be more expensive, even for legitimate medical reasons, not just to prevent pregnancy.

Birth control pills are less commonly covered, and in an ironic twist (if i recall my research correctly) abortions are covered, though, aren't they?

I never argued that BC pills were only used for just that one cause. And I never argued that the price was right on them. I don't think it's fair to compare them to other medications, especially when those medications can serve and entirely different purpose.

I understand that you're on BC because of a medical condition. I also said that if ED meds are covered by an insurance company, BC pills should be as well. I do believe BC pills should be cheaper (so should condoms) but, it's a matter of demand. A lot of people don't want to be pregnant and the pharmaceutical has just the thing. But to ask why women's contraceptives are so expensive is unfair. I think bang for the buck, mine's more expensive.

[the_std]

But to ask why women's contraceptives are so expensive is unfair. I think bang for the buck, mine's more expensive.

... So what? Just because condoms are expensive doesn't really mean anything as to why it's wrong that BC is expensive.

Plus, for a lot of women, they cannot function without BC because of it's non-contraceptive effects. There are many, many women whose pain becomes unbearable, have intolerable mood swings and other such maladies that the BC cures. You can function without condoms, it's just not as safe. Apples to oranges.

[Fashion Lad!]

... So what? Just because condoms are expensive doesn't really mean anything as to why it's wrong that BC is expensive.

Plus, for a lot of women, they cannot function without BC because of it's non-contraceptive effects. There are many, many women whose pain becomes unbearable, have intolerable mood swings and other such maladies that the BC cures. You can function without condoms, it's just not as safe. Apples to oranges.

And the first part of what you quoted was said in jest. Hence the

Condoms are BC. Maybe you should refer to birth control pills as a hormonal supplement. Because when I compare them to condoms, it is apples to apples as a contraceptive. If you want to talk hormone therapy, we'll talk hormone therapy. But not now. I'm drunk.