Doctor Outlines Costs Of Contraception For Those Without Health Insurance
By Michelle Durham
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The controversy over contraception being included in health insurance brings an interesting question to the forefront: How much does birth control really cost?
For Thomas Jefferson University Hospital OB GYN Dr. Katie Lackritz, this is a conversation she has with her patients every day and she says cost is the real decisive factor.
"Some of the best birth control we have are the I.U.D's (intra uterine devices. ) To purchase the device and have it placed in the office if you have no insurance, over $1,000. The Mirena I.U.D. which is another great form of birth control, to purchase the device and have it placed in the office $1100. That is a ton of money."
Lackritz says the price of the prescription limits often limits what a healthcare provider can prescribe.
"Some of the newer birth control pills can be expensive without insurance coverage -- $50, $60, $75 a month and they are the ones that have been more researched and are better tolerated."
Lackritz says bottom line, in her experience, those without insurance have fewer options or can't afford to take the birth control properly and that results in unplanned pregnancies, which she says has a high cost too.
