The Reality of Birth Control Costs

A few months ago, I saw a post on Facebook saying that birth control only costs women $10 a month, so we don’t need to get it for free. This video blog has been percolating inside of me ever since. Let’s put aside the issue that the health care law is not providing free birth control (the law requires insurance plans to provide preventive services with no cost sharing), and talk about what the real cost of birth control is for women. The monthly costs of birth control—plus their annual visit with their ob/gyn to get their prescription—can add up to hundreds of dollars a year with health insurance. Watch my blog post and learn how the costs of birth control add up and what those costs mean for women and their families.

Sources

Average cost sharing in employer sponsored plans: Employer Health Benefits 2011 Survey, Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research & Educational Trust
Average cost of a preventive ob/gyn visit: Preventive Health Examinations and Preventive Gynecological Examinations in the United States, Archives of Internal Medicine
Family budget for Columbus, OH: Basic Family Budget Calculator, Economic Policy Institute
Estimated lifetime cost of birth control: Calculator: How Expensive is Birth Control?, Mother Jones
Median Household Income in the United States: U.S. Census Bureau, Quick Facts
Cost of attending a 4-year public university: Trends in College Pricing 2011, The College Board
Tuition for a public law school: U.S. News Data Show 2011 May Be Beginning of End for Law School Tuition Bubble, The AmLaw Daily
Cost of a hybrid car: Toyota Website
Median price of a home in Scranton, Pa: Scranton, PA, City-Data.com