The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, is doing something for women you may not be familiar with, but you should be.
The ACA does a lot to address what’s wrong with our system of health care in America, and one of the most important ways in which it does that is a huge victory for women’s health. While Obamacare will move 22% of uninsured women into health coverage by allowing low income women to qualify for Medicaid and making private coverage more affordable, it’s going to allow women free access to safe, reliable birth control in the form of LARC’s. (I’ll explain what those are in a moment)
This is a huge victory for women’s health, especially when you consider that the average woman tries to avoid pregnancy for 30 years – or 75% of her reproductive life. At the same time, however, less than a fifth of women in the United States are relying on the most effective types of birth control to do so.
That can change with the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that FDA–approved contraceptive methods, which include long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) be covered for free.
Failure rates of less than 1% make LARCs, which include intrauterine devices (IUD) and sub dermal implants, top tier methods for preventing unplanned pregnancy. And since they don’t require further action after being placed in the body by a clinician, they’re the most effective birth control methods on the market today. They’re also the most cost-effective contraceptives in the long-term and can last anywhere from 3-12 years.
Prior to the ACA, the cost of a LARC method posed a substantial barrier to access. The typical price of an IUD ranges from $200 to $400. For women without health insurance, the total out-of-pocket costs could approach $1,000. That places these methods well out of reach for the majority of poor, minority women, the group with the highest rates of unintended pregnancy and abortion.
Health care reform has paved the way for breaking down one of the most significant barriers to LARC access for women in the United States– the high upfront cost. Now is the time to maximize the opportunities before us through the following strategies:
- Improve health provider education and training on LARC safety and usage
- Develop public health messages to build consumer awareness about the safety and effectiveness of LARCs.
- Put policies into place that prevent insurance companies from denying a woman her preferred birth control method.
- Ensure that LARCs are covered in all states’ Medicaid programs
- Preserving vital family planning programs, like Title X and Family PACT in California, to ensure comprehensive birth control access for women who will remain uninsured.
Ultimately, these efforts will help ensure that all women in our nation can access the most effective forms of birth control that they need and deserve.
Julie Rabinovitz is President and CEO of the California Family Health Council
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