Share Your Story: What does birth control without co-pays mean for you?

Birth control without co-pays means that I don't have to put my life on hold for one week out of every month. Before I started hormone therapy I was plagued with irregular menstrual cycles, painful cramps, and heavy bleeding. After just a couple of months on the pill I could tell a difference. The pill gave me my life back.

Birth control without co-pays means safety to me. There are countless women out there, some of whom are friends and acquaintances of mine, who simply cannot afford birth control. These women often dangerously choose to go without, or cut costs on essentials just so they can afford this important little pill. I started using birth control pills very recently, and they have already became invaluable to me. It would be a terrible thing if I or any women like me could no longer get access to birth control. I do not want to bring a child into this world before I am prepared, and I am tired of seeing so many young women do just that. Easy access to affordable birth control can be a wonderful asset. Not only does it help prevent countless unwanted pregnancies, but having cheap and easy access to birth control makes it so much easier for women everywhere to choose the exact method of birth control that is right for them. Finally, by providing other preventative health care options at no co-pay, it helps citizens everywhere to stay healthy and function well, without having to delay care due to lack of funds. And, preventative care helps to catch any illnesses or conditions before they develop, thereby keeping more people safe, and in the end, costing doctors and hospitals a lot less money, money which they would otherwise have to use to treat ill patients in the future.

I will soon be 80 years old with grown children and grandchildren.  In my late 30-40's my gynecologist prescribed birth control pills to control bleeding caused by fibroid tumors.  This had nothing to do with contraception or family planning.  The pills allowed me to avoid a hysterectomy until I was 60 years old.  My insurance company did not cover this, so I paid out-of-pocket for them.  Every woman should have the right to contraceptives and insurance companies should cover them.  It's the right thing to do.

I am 70 years old.  Throughout my adult life, I have used "the pill" for several different reasons  -most of them having nothing to do with preventing pregnancy.  Therein lies the misconception pertaining to what we refer to as  "birth control" or contraception.I feel that every media person, and most people who comment on "birth control" and "contraceptives" are almost always missing a key point: What we have come to call birth control" is really hormonal therapy and it is used for FAR MORE than preventing pregnancy. It is also used to regulate a woman's menstrual cycle so she can plan a desired preganancy  (proconception use), prevent hemorrhaging, treat ovarian cysts, reduce severe pain (cramps) during menstruation, rebuild the vaginal wall, strengthen the uterus, help with adverse effects of PMS, help with menopausal and post menopausal female health problems, and is used to alleviate female health problems in cases of endometriosis. These little pills are not only used for family planning, and are used for FAR MORE than preventing pregnancy.   It's time to for all women, the media, the men, the legislators, and everyone else to abandon the terms "birth control' and "contraception" and call the pill what it is: HORMONAL THERAPY. (If legislators can force the change from "global warming" to "climate change", we should be able to force the change from "birth control" and "contraqceptives" to the more accurate term of HORMONAL THERAPY.