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.
How You Can Help
Sign Up for Email Updates
Follow Us on the Web
Join the New Reproductive Health Campaign
Go to ThisIsPersonal.org to get the facts and tools you need to help protect women's reproductive health.
Your Stories
Anita
, Connecticut, Professor
Birth control is the only available treatment for my endometriosis. Even so, I left it untreated for three years because, under my Catholic-exempt insurance, the pill I needed cost $110/month. (Why an expensive pill? The cheaper ones had horrible side effects for me--debilitating, can-only-eat-bread kind of side effects.) An affordable pill means finally treating my endometriosis, keeping it from spreading, and maybe, just maybe, eventually having enough savings to pay for the IVF (also Catholic-exempted) that I would much prefer to birth control anyway.
|
Naomi
Shoreline, WA,
I'm not in a situation where I need contraception for purposes of preventing pregnancy, but I get hideous cramps. I can't afford to be nonfunctional for a couple of days every month, so my doctor wants to try me on birth control pills as a way to try and make them less overwhelming. I'm a student and a single parent and money is tight; being able to work on this with her without copays to worry about takes a big load off my shoulders.
|
Michael E. Bailey
Mission Viejo, California, Vice Chairman, Area Disabilities Board 11, Orange County
Having Birth Control with no-copay is a critical component of womens' health. In the disability community in California, having a close relationship with someone is a choice issue. And this makes birth control especially important to disabled women and because nearly everyone in the disability community is also low income, not having copays for this service is also critically important because it can be much easier accessed. Under California's Lanterman Developmental Services Act, a person with a disability can choose to have a relationship with whoever they choose--The Lanterman Act is a State Civil Rights Act for the developmentally disabled.Equally important, is that regional center clients who need birth control services can go to the same facilities that provide these services for other important womens' healthcare needs like HIV/AIDS testing, cancer screenings, safe sex education, pap smears.Birth control and womens health with no copays is a major step forward in medical access for all women in California's disabled community. Its a huge step forward for all women across the country regardless of age, disability, income, region, LGBT, or race. It is a great thing.
|
Mimi
, UT,
While I am not in a position now to use birth control, all I can say is if it weren't for Planned Parenthood when I was young, god knows what would have happened to my life. I could not afford birth control, PERIOD. But Planned Parenthood had a sliding scale based on income and given that I made minimum wage back then, my co-pay was never more than $5 and most months it was free. Because of PP I never had to make the decision between eating or getting birth control. THANK YOU PP! I can only guess what the co-pay will do for women now. It's about damn time!
|
Tristan MacAvery
Syracuse, NY, Writer / Actor
As a gay male, it doesn't affect me directly, as you might guess. However, as a human being, as one who loves his fellow humans, as one who is affected by decisions about personal rights, marriage rights, gender-based rights, and personal freedoms... I am proud to stand up and shout out loud for the rights of women. All my friends -- male and female, gay straight or other -- rejoice with me in being able to make our own choices. NWLC, I stand with you always. Thank you.
|
CRICHTON RAABERG
SALEM, Oregon, self employed
Actually, I'm not worried about birth control. I'm 53, and after bleeding for over 2 months, it is planned parenthood that will give me an affordable pap-smear and endometrial biopsy. I don't have insurance, when our business had a slow period I couldn't pay one month and lost the insurance. I was denied after that and our state insurance is too expensive. Anyway, like I said, I don't need birth control, but I think being able to get affordable care that could save my life is worth mentioning.
|
Hayley
, Pennsylvania, Administrator
Co-pay free birth control means I can now talk to my doctor about trying differnet pills or methods that work better for my body than others. I don't have to settle for what I can afford and suffer from side effects that I may not have on a differnt pill that had a higher co-payment. Please note, I take birth control to regulate my menstrual cycle each month. When I go off of them, the cycle does not remain consistent so I need them for more than just birth control. Also having no co-payment means that I can afford more food, clothing and other essentials too. Lots of people don't think about the women like myself who take the pill for a medical reason and don't have a huge income. I want to take President Obama for caring and makeing this happen. I will now have more options and more money for other things I need too.
|
Melanie
Seattle, WA, Adjunct Professor
I am really happy to hear about the wonderful improvements in birth control coverage, sadly I will not be able to benefit from them at this time, I don't have any insurance at all, and I haven't had any since I was a Graduate Teaching Assistant five years ago. When things go wrong I deal with it at home.
|
Katie
Alpharetta, GA,
It means that I will be able to cost effectively afford to prevent pregnancy. I have been pregnant 4 times, I lost pregnancies and have two sons. I love my children, would die for them, but I had difficult births and I am now 39. My poor old body could not sustain another pregnancy, nor could my wallet support another child. I am making a RESPONSIBLE decision for myself and for my family. The no co pay just makes it easier and more affordable, which I appreciate.
|
Patricia
Columbia, SC,
Co-pays on birth control pills were prohibitive for me. I had to eat hard boiled eggs for two weeks in order to save enough money for the birth control pills. I have a cyst on one ovary and the pain was horrible without the pills. The other alternative was to have surgery and a partial hysterectomy. I do not understand Gov. niki Haley's remarks stating that women in her state do not care about birth control. I do not uinderstand Bill O'Reilly stating that birth control pills are cheap and that birth control can be gotten at any drug store. Condoms will not cure the size of a cyst. Then the Catholic Church priests state that birth control pills are inexpensive. Guys, these are men telling women that their angst over birth control pills is nonsense.T.Y.
|
Add Your Story