Birth Control Rant- probably best for only the women to read...
 

So the other birth control thread is in dating & relationships... but I think this particular post is more general.

Just went to get my prescription refilled. Regular OTC... been taking it for about 5 years now. When I first stated taking it, was awesome, only like $8 a pack. Then last year when the patent ran out, went up to like $22 a pack. Blah. Switched pills, to OTC-lo, had problems with it so went back to regular OTC.

Went in today to have it refilled, it's FOURTY NINE DOLLARS FOR ONE PACK!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is insane!

Thank god they had a generic, which was still $21 a pack.

My health care doesn't cover it.

This is a crime!!! :mad:

When it's HotDamn for president, birth control will be free.

Really, don't you wonder why it's so expensive? And entire YEAR of birth control is still less expensive than ONE prenatal visit.

Not to knock having kids -- or prenatal visits! -- but you'd think they'd make it EASY to avoid getting pregnant if that's what you want to do.

oh. PS, usually if you ask the doctor about it, he/she'll have free samples he/she can give you. Even if your prescription copay is $25, if you get two, that's $50 savings. Thumbs up.

Can you get it through student health? My friends at other schools do that and it's about $10.

that's where I was. It used to be $8 there, then it went up when the patent ran out. They apparently don't make clinic packs anymore, according to the pharmacist, and that's what student health would use. This must've happened within the last few months... I usually get 3 packs at a time, and 3 months ago they weren't 50 bucks!

I think it might just be Student Health, too. Maybe part of it's covered under the student fees, or the pill companies strike deals with the student health orgs. at big universities (would make sense. If I'm student health and want to give my students a break by making the pill cheap, I'd be willing to strike a deal and only really deal with 4 or 5 manufacturers.)

Mine was $6 at NC State, and like $10 at VCU. Of course not anymore. :( And the patent didn't run out on mine.

Maybe try PP? Our insurance is pretty good about mine - I get 3/$20.

Def go to Planned Parenthood or Family Planning. Although if they're not making clinic packs anymore at all, it might be the same deal there.

You should be able to get it through mail order which is lots cheaper - $50 for 3 months worth.

(33girl shudders at the thought of OB/GYN services performed by her student health center, and cries remembering the $2.50 pill packs.)

[soapbox]

What really ticks me off is that most insurance plans won't cover the cost of (responsible) birth control, but WILL cover Viagra!!

And even better, I know a couple who are functionally illiterate and on public assistance - and their medical assistance paid for them to be artifically inseminated, not once, not twice, but THREE TIMES!!!!

Seriously, there's somebody asleep at the switch when it comes to the cost of birth control!!

[/soapbox]

i wonder if anything comes about with this male birth control pill that they are testing, if that will be covered under insurance better?

Haha, it seems like now every visit to the student health center at Clarion is an OB/GYN one. First question, without fail, are you pregnant? Got a blister? Are you pregnant? Broke your arm? ARe you pregnant?

My best friend from law school was clerking for Judge Lasnik in USDC in the Western District of Washington when the case of Erickson v. Bartell Drugs came before him. She helped prepare the opinion granting summary judgment in favor of plaintiff, a woman who sued for sex discrimination b/c Bartell's insurance specifically excluded many drugs used by women including contraceptive devices, drugs prescribed for weight reduction, infertility drugs, smoking cessation drugs, dermatologicals for cosmetic purposes, growth hormones, and experimental drugs while covering almost all drugs used by men. You can read the opinion here: http://www.covermypills.org/latest/Decision.html.

I might be completely wrong but I remember hearing that Congress was trying to pass a law that made it illegal for insurance companies to cover Viagra but not BC Pills. Is that true and, if so, does anyone know what became of it?

Luckily, my insurance does cover most of it so I pay $20 for 3 through my mail-order service. While I was in school, I went through student health to get it and I think I was paying about $12 per pack which is kinda expensive. I've heard that they increased their prices this year. A friend of mine is on Yasmin (one of the most expensive pills) and she pays $25 per pack at Student Health. :eek:

Does anyone have concrete proof of an insurance company that covers Viagra, but doesn't cover BC? I've heard that, but haven't found a single insurance carrier that admits to that. I'm not sure if it's a viable fact or an urban legend.

My insurance has always covered BC, and here I pay around $7/month. At some of the pharmacies around my parents' house in Florida, it was $13/month under the exact same insurer. I think I'd pay any price--NOT getting pregnant is a really high priority for me.

Do you guys do mail order through your insurance or is there some site you can go to?