Share Your Story: What does birth control without co-pays mean for you?
Has cost ever kept you from using the method of birth control that’s best for you? Has it forced you to make tough choices, like going without birth control or even delaying paying a bill so you can afford it?
Thanks to the health care law, new insurance plans are required to cover birth control and other women’s preventive health services with no co-payments or deductibles at the start of their next plan year. As more health plans come under the law’s reach, more and more women will be able to keep their wallets closed when they pick up their birth control.
Tell us — what does it mean to you that you will soon get birth control with no co-pays or deductibles?
Please note: The views expressed in the stories below are those of the authors themselves and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the National Women's Law Center. All statements of fact in these stories have been provided by the individual authors, and the National Women's Law Center cannot and does not vouch for their accuracy. The Center will compile the stories and may use them, in whole or in part, in our advocacy efforts.
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Your Stories
LOU STAMMER
columbus, ohio, retired
as a man i state that the erosion of ones rights is a direct threat to us all ----BIRTH CONTROL IS A MED NECESSITY---it is a factor in our desire to maintain a balance of population----and a factor in our very economic viability----VOTE DEM. 2012----SAVE OUR NATION FROM THE ZEALOTS SUCH AS romney ---santorum and ryan---WOMEN OF THE NATION UNITE IN DEFENSE OF YOUR LIBERTIES----
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Cathy Creswell
Grand Rapids, Michigan,
I see so many intelligent, articulate women and men posting here. I , too am at the end of childbearing. I'm in menopause and llok forward to being done with the monthly hassle. Women have always had traditional forms of birth control, and midwives would hand down these methods. Unfortunately, they weren't very effective or reliable. I'm so glad I live in the age of modern methods. Having birth control available without copay will hopefully help transform the lives of women. Now, we need to impress teens on the importance of USING birth control. We need to restore some dignity back to young girls, and praise them for waiting to have kids. Abstinence only did not work, now let's begin some REAL sex education!!
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Delia E Frederick
Greensboro, NC, registered nurse
When I was a college student 30 years ago, I did not have the money to pay for oral contraceptives one month. I also did not have transportation to get to a health department for reproductive care. As a result I became pregnant. I did end this pregnancy in an abortion, because I certainly could not afford to care for another person. since I could not pay for caring for myself.Now I am post-menopausal, so pregnancy nor reproductive care are personal concerns for me, but I have no doubt that other young women do need access to care and free contraception.
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Patricia Norton
, Florida,
Although I am no longer in need of birth control, it is my opinion that any woman who wants it should have it available, regardless of their means. Women should be able to pursue careers, strive for independence and better their living standards without fear of pregnancy. It is also a method of limiting families to manageable sizes and keeping their family lives affordable.
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Pat Souders
Palm Bch Gdns, FL, Retired
Altho I support birth-control, abortion, and anything else that can help keep the population down, I have to admit, that as a 79 year old, vasectomized, male without a prostate, I don't have much concern for myself in regard to contraception. I do sign ALL the petitions for this matter, but don't belong to any social sites such as facebook or twitter (my wife does say I "tweet" a lot tho). Pat(rick)
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S. Janet Payne
Kathleen, Georgia, retail
I recently calculated that I spent over $16,000 dollars on contracepion during my reproductive years. Would that I had been able to save that money towards my old age. I don't want my neices or any other young woman to have to make the difficult decisions between what is better for now or for the future.
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Nita Bogart
, HI,
While I am past the childbearing years, I am very concerned about the rights of women to have the option to receive birth control whether they can afford them out-of-pocket or not. Those who want to reduce availability of choice, seem to be unaware of what unrestricted procreation has done to our economy. (Read Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel for a fascinating study of the devastqtion of overpopulation). Women shouldn't HAVE to bear and care for children they cannot afford, nor should a society that loves children force them to with restrictive health care. I've worked with unwante/unloved children and their frustrated mothers and non-involved fathers....the burden such blindness to women's needs puts upon the rest of us should make us more conscious of what such beliefs engender. I was able to get birth control so that I could have a family when I was ready to be and was blessed with two children who are wonderful parents themselves and whose lives and work enriches the world. I wish all women were so fortunate!
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Amanda Maynard
Boonsboro, Maryland, Stay-At-Home Mom
Thanks to Medicaid, I was able to get my tubes tied five years ago after my youngest daughter was born, so my childbearing years are for all intents and purposes over. However, being a member of the working class means that I've had my share of struggles being able to access effective, reliable birth control over the years. There were times when I had to pay for my birth control pills out of pocket because insurance wouldn't cover it or the provider insisted that I show a "valid medical reason" for needing the Pill-apparently, pregnancy prevention wasn't a legitimate reason for them! I used it to control severe menstrual symptoms (as in severe bleeding, killer cramps, and monster PMS mood swings on top of an irregular cycle), but felt strongly that what a woman needs the Pill for is nobody's business but her own and I told the insurance company as much! After our first daughter was born, we had to switch to condoms and spermicide because we didn't have health insurance through my husband's job, we couldn't afford private coverage due to the prohibitive cost, we didn't qualify for Medicaid (my husband "made too much money" in spite of the fact that we could barely afford rent, utilities, gas, and food already!), and OTC methods like condoms were cheaper and didn't require the additional expense of a doctor's visit. That's how we got our second daughter-apparently one of the condoms failed despite VERY careful use! Birth control without co-pays may have come along slightly too late for us, but since we have two daughters who will benefit from this when they hit childbearing age, I have DOUBLE the reasons to be grateful that this provision is in place! They won't have to fight the insurers tooth and nail to get their contraceptive medication for whatever reasons they need it, and they'll have more control over when and how many children they have. And if they opt to remain childfree like my sister and brother-in-law did (and had to jump through a ridiculous amount of hoops to ensure that things stayed that way thanks to society's outmoded attitude that not having kids is a BAD thing!), they will have an easier time ensuring that as well! My daughters won't have to choose between paying rent and paying for birth control. They won't have to argue with insurance providers over WHY they need birth control. They will be free to determine the path of their own lives without being shackled to their cycles. This is TRUE freedom for women!
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jim
, michigan,
This is just another example of insurance companies "insuring" their (40%) profit margins by providing less services. It appears the two most victimized groups in this election cycle are women and gays. It's a great way for insurance companies to generate more profits and have the added bonus to express there hatred and/or control over these groups. These reproductive rights issues are really no-ones business except for the women involved and I wish the government and insurance would stay out of it.I do not see how this helps but only makes things difficult for women who want to protect themselves. In addition, this keeps the "fear" alive about who will and will not be able to get the proper health care coverage. Sadly, it seems "Health Care" is becoming another area where only the healthy will be allowed coverage. That must be why they call it "Health Care". Because it's only for the healthy!
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Erin Bulman
Portland, OR, retired
It means that young women will have opportunities that I did not, when I was of child-bearing age. Neither my husband and I wanted children, for good reason. Neither of us felt we could give a child the love and guidance that every child needs. I know too many couples who had children because they did not practice family planning, and were pressured (as were we) to produce grandchildren, nieces or nephews or just babies to coo over for a few minutes without responsibility. I saw them become depressed and unhappy, trying to fulfil the dreams of others, by giving up their own. Divorces, arguments, and ultimately children who suffered.When I became pregnant, after trying very hard to be careful (the pill was just coming on the market), we had to go to Mexico to have the abortion - a terrifying experience for both of us, which put my health into hands that I could only hope were the right ones. It turned out very well, the procedure and the care I received were excellent and I experienced no side-effects. But no woman should have to do this. We deserve both the right to make our own decisions, take appropriate steps to prevent or abort a pregnancy, and respect for our choices. Some years later, after I had begun using the pill, my husband had a vasectomy. We never had any regrets - quite the opposite. My husband had developed severe heart disease and Hepatitis C from blood transfusions. Several times, he was near death and we were so grateful that he would not leave me with small children to raise alone without sufficient funds to provide for a good education and a proper environment with a parent able to spend the time to love and nourish them.I am insulted that anyone could regard my choice as selfish, or morally deficient. My heart aches for all children who lack the attention, love and guidance of happy, truly caring parents. They are not stupid, nor unobservant. They are the ones who suffer from divorce and reluctant mothers or fathers. Having children is an enormous commitment which too many are not prepared for. Today, we still do not even have proper sex education and do not provide support for either children or parents that they need when they have children without understanding the commitment required. Free access to birth control is essential.
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