Sex in the News: Real Cost of Birth Control

February 21, 2012 4:30 pm     Posted in News, Sex  Leah - Ryerson University g+ page


By Leah

After the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform filled a panel discussing President Obama’s Affordable Care Act and the birth control mandate with only men, it’s time to explain one thing. If you don’t use birth control you probably don’t fully understand it, am I right? Yes, and as such, many of the men who want to control your reproductive rights (Rick Santorum included) fail to realize the cost of birth control. Last week Santorum told CPAC that birth control costs “a few dollars.”

And well, this just isn’t true. The Center for American Progress released a report saying that the cost of birth control is prohibitive to many women. The pill, patch or ring (methods that are likely primary choices for college-aged women) can cost as much as $1,200 a year without insurance. This includes the cost of a visit to the doctor as well.

Sorry Santorum, but it’s not cheap. Even for women with insurance, certain types of birth control pills require forking over $50 a month out of pocket. What’s even more expensive? Having a baby. Money is the number one reason that women delay having kids. While birth control will always be cheaper than supporting a child, it can still put a dent in income. As a result of the cost, the report says almost half of young adult women don’t use their method as directed.

So let’s include some women into the decision making process and add some real insight into the birth control payer debate, okay?

[Lead image via lev dolgachov/Shutterstock]

19 Comments on "Sex in the News: Real Cost of Birth Control"

  1. spamfred says:
    Tue, 21st Feb 20124:36 pm 

    Wow! This will sound so self absorbed but it has literally never even crossed my mind that people have to pay for birth control in the developed world. We're so lucky to have it free on the NHS in the UK; I work full time and pay taxes now and I am glad that when I was a poor student, other people were paying taxes which allowed this to be there for me!

  2. Kirsten says:
    Tue, 21st Feb 20125:46 pm 

    I have insurance and it does not pay for hardly any of my birth control. I am on Beyaz right now and the Bayer company has a program where you can receive a months worth for $25. Without that I would be paying closer to $100 a month. I know non-pill methods are even more expensive. I hate that old men are at the forefront of trying to control women's rights when they have no clue.

  3. Lena says:
    Tue, 21st Feb 20129:03 pm 

    One of the reasons for all of these unplanned pregnancies is probably the lack of access to cheap/free birth control. But providing free birth control would help curb accidents.

  4. Alana says:
    Tue, 21st Feb 201210:13 pm 

    Agreed! I'm on Loestrin 24Fe which is $24 a month, and that's with insurance. Thankfully my mom helps me pay for it, or I would never be able to afford that on a college student's budget.

  5. Liz says:
    Tue, 21st Feb 201211:20 pm 

    I'm SO thankful that my dad's insurance covers my birth control (Loestrin 24 Fe) pretty well and I only have to pay about $12/month. There's no way my parents would help me pay, and there's no way I could afford it each month if it were much more than that. It's ridiculous how much it costs without insurance, or even with some insurance companies. Also, if you want fewer abortions, as most of these politicians claim is their goal, birth control should be made readily available. More birth control=fewer unplanned pregnancies=fewer abortions. Easy math.

  6. Ingvarsmith says:
    Wed, 22nd Feb 20124:11 am 

    This Medicine is very Helpful for control the Birth of baby.If any woman can take it tablet. http://blogs.rediff.com/ginamlbr/2012/02/22/mens-…

  7. Garnet – Columbia University says:
    Wed, 22nd Feb 201211:31 am 

    My birth control used to cost $60/month before I switched insurance plans. Lots of insurance plans don't cover birth control, so even women with good health insurance sometimes pay insane amounts of money for birth control! Ridiculous.

  8. Rachael says:
    Wed, 22nd Feb 201212:16 pm 

    Agreed! Well i do have to pay for it but its only 12$ for 3 months so i don't really count that as much :P but i definitely didn't know people were spending so much on BC in the states (I'm from Canada)

  9. Fatcow says:
    Thu, 23rd Feb 201212:20 am 

    This is just pro-abortion law. We have freedom here. I don’t think Catholics have the right to deny or allow access to birth control. That is a personal thing.

  10. Guest says:
    Thu, 23rd Feb 20123:22 am 

    If you make less than $500 a month you can get it free at Planned Parenthood! This is super helpful for uni students (like me)!

  11. Nannette says:
    Thu, 23rd Feb 20129:08 am 

    Planned parenthood accepts my insurance, but I still have to pay out of pocket for my birth control. Luckily, I purchase them thru PP and it's 45 bucks for 3 months. Not too bad, but I wish my insurance would cover it.

  12. Darury says:
    Thu, 23rd Feb 20121:05 pm 

    What seems to be lost in all these discussions was that it was only religious organizations that objected to paying for contraceptives as part of their insurance plans. How many women are actually A) Employed by religious organization and B) Using non-covered birth control? You can't even use a subset of A or B.. the issue that has been getting all the news probably impacts a few hundred women, but suddenly the media is suggesting everyoen wants to ban birth control.

  13. Alicia says:
    Thu, 23rd Feb 20121:56 pm 

    There is very cheap form of birth control that I wish I'd seen more women talking about it: condoms. They're cheap, and they are just as good as the pill. Plus, they protect against STDs and the pill doesn't.

  14. Katie says:
    Fri, 24th Feb 20121:03 am 

    Why can't couples use both? Double up!

  15. neat says:
    Wed, 29th Feb 20121:40 am 

    you are right, but not everyone uses condoms effectivly

  16. john says:
    Sat, 3rd Mar 20121:44 am 

    First I want to say that the cheapest form of birth control is to simple not have sex, second we are talking about amounts of money equal to the cost of a single date and in many cases the cost of going out for supper. Third thing is this is also about religious freedoms. The catholic church believes it is wrong to stop the act of having a baby. I do not agree, but that is there belief. I do not want to take the rights of religion away from the church.

    Also if 12 bucks is going to put a dent in your budget for something like that cancel your phone or reduce your plan. Get a part time job or something. Stand up for yourself and take care of your self. Next we will ask the government to provide toothpaste because it costs money and we will have fewer cavities.

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