Birth control spending among women have significantly dropped, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have found out. Since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) under the Obama administration, where contraceptives are covered in insurance plans, women have been saving money from buying the pill. The savings is estimated at $1.4 billion, according to Washington Post.
Birth control cost has been one of the reasons why many women refuse to be on the pill as majority of insurance providers only cover limited financial support for this. But since Obamacare rolled out, researchers noted that pill expenses have significantly dipped by 22 percent in the first few months of 2013.
ACA has required private insurers to give women the full contraceptive coverage, which includes oral contraceptives, intrauterine devices, implants and other forms of birth control approved by the FDA. This is enjoyed without any additional co-pay from the insured.
Researchers took a random sampling of 790,000 women between the ages of 13 to 45 and studied their use of contraceptives from 2008 to 2013. Averagely, women using oral contraceptives were able to save $255 annually, and IUD users were able to save $248 annually. Emergency contraceptive users, on the other hand, have decreased to 90 percent.
"It turns out the law is doing exactly what the law says should be done," said Dr. Nora Becker, the report's lead author, via Newsweek. "I was surprised by the speed at which we've seen a drop in price."
"It's great news that as a result of progress made in the Affordable Care Act, women across the country have more affordable access to critical health care like birth control," said Sen. Patty Murray, an advocate for women's reproductive rights, via Think Progress. "This is good for women, it's good for our country, and it's progress we need to continue to build on going forward."
The study, however, does not cover the effects of affordable contraceptives in the birth rate nor the rate of unintended pregnancies. But it delivers promising news for family planning advocates.
The study was published on Health Affairs.
