Thanks To Obamacare, The Average Woman Is Saving $255 Per Year On Her Birth Control Pills

Thanks To Obamacare, The Average Woman Is Saving $255 Per Year On Her Birth Control Pills

by Katelyn Harrop at Think Progress

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2015/07/08/3678014/obamacare-birth-control-savings/

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The results are in: Birth control is more financial accessible than ever before, and the Affordable Care Act is behind it.

According to a recent study published in Health Affairs, contraceptive spending has gone down by 20 percent since the Obamacare mandate took effect. Under the ACA, private insurers are required to provide full and comprehensive contraceptive coverage — including intrauterine devices, oral contraceptives, under-skin implants, and other forms of FDA-approved birth control options — without charging an additional co-pay.

Before the mandate, contraceptive spending accounted for roughly 44 percent of the average woman’s annual health expenditures, but this number has dropped to 22 percent since the ACA provision was widely adopted in 2013.

“It’s great news that as a result of progress made in the Affordable Care Act, women across the country have more affordable access to critical health care like birth control,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), who has been a strong advocate for women’s reproductive rights, most recently championing the fight for over-the-counter birth control availability. “This is good for women, it’s good for our country, and it’s progress we need to continue to build on going forward.”

Since the mandate has gone into effect, the average oral birth control user has saved $255 annually, while IUD users have saved $248. Spending on implant devices has also seen a significant drop to $91, a 72 percent decrease. But the most dramatic drop has been in the cost of emergency contraceptives — which have decreased by over 90 percent, to just $1.75 per prescription.




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