Does your insurance company . . .?

Does your insurance have the double standard of paying for Viagra but not for Birth Control? Let's discuss!

[ilovemyglo]

mine pays for Birth control- I get 3 months worth delivered to my house for $30.

[DWAlphaGam]

Mine pays for the pill...I can get 3 months' worth for $10 if I get the generic.

[dzandiloo]

Well, I'm currently uninsured, but I used to work for an insurance company & let me explain the justification I often heard with respect to this issue (NOTE: I am not agreeing or disagreeing with this stance-I am just sharing the insurance company's point of view):

1. Most prescription plans only cover medications that are medically necessary for the treatment of a medical condition. Technically, if a doctor writes a prescription for Viagra, it is intended to be used for the treatment of erectile disfunction-a medical condition.

2. Most women who use BCP are using them for birth control purposes only. As far as the insurance company is concerned, it is not medically necessary to avoid being pregnant. HOWEVER, almost every insurance plan I know of that exludes BCP for purposes of birth control does provide an exception in the event that the pill is being prescribed for treatment of some other condition, like lessening the symptoms of endometriosis, and in extreme cases, acne. Getting approval in these cases is almost always a huge PITA, b/c volumes of medical information has to be provided.

Its also a matter of cost. Insurance premiums are insane & prescription drugs are said by many to be the number one culprit--its a matter of deciding what prescriptions will hurt the bottom line the least: in this case, the percentage of men needing (or even pursuing) Viagra is fractional compared to the percentage of women who would use BCP's if they were available to them. This is one reason why the same plans that won't pay for BCP's will often pay for elective abortions--they know not many women will take advantage of the benefit, and even if they do, the cost of an abortion to an insurance company is drastically less than the cost of a full-term healthy or complicated pregnancy....(I know that comparison is offensive to some, but believe me, it is considered when benefit plans are written and premiums are set).

I suppose the so-called "double standard" question stems from the question of how medically necessary is it for a man to be able to engage in sexual activities? Hmmm....and then there are those who argue that the only reason that Viagra is covered is because men run the insurance companies (I don't buy that, but who knows for sure???)

[Kristin AGD]

I love how insurance companies won't pay for birth control, but then have to pay thousands for the birth of an unplanned child.
I wonder which is cheaper.

My insurance used to not pay, but they have changed thier policy to include birth control in the past 2 years.

Mine covers it.

[Rio_Kohitsuji]

My insurance charges me $4 a month for a generic pack.

Viagra...have no idea..maybe I'll ask my parents...*grosses herself out*

[ZTAngel]

Mine charges $12 for 3 months worth. I get it delivered to my house and it's a name-brand BCP.

[MereMere21]

Like Kristen I also think its funny how insurance won't cover BC but will pay thousands for a birth

When I had my son, my total hospital bill was $20,000. Thats everything including all of his nursery care. Insurance covered everything. Twenty grand versus 12 bucks a month? hmmmm

My insurance covers it now of course that I'm pregnant again!

[xok85xo]

my insurance company does not cover birth control in my state(but in other states i'm assuming they do)

however..they do cover abortion

so who wants to try and explain that one to me?

[Munchkin03]

My (father's company's) insurance covers BC--no questions asked, it doesn't matter if it's for cramps, acne, irregular periods or birth control. The brand name is $8/month. It does not, however, cover Viagra unless the man is over a certain age .

A woman is the CEO, so I wonder if that has anything to do with it.

[GeekyPenguin]

I think we pay something like $5/year for my BC - but my parents both work for medical companies so we have much better insurance that most people.

[Munchkin03]

Originally posted by GeekyPenguin
I think we pay something like $5/year for my BC - but my parents both work for medical companies so we have much better insurance that most people.

I could pay a lot less for it, about $6 or $7 annually--if we went through mail-order and did generic. But, something sorta creeps me out about having my father order my BCP (as only the policyholder can order from the mailorder company).

[GeekyPenguin]

Originally posted by Munchkin03
I could pay a lot less for it, about $6 or $7 annually--if we went through mail-order and did generic. But, something sorta creeps me out about having my father order my BCP (as only the policyholder can order from the mailorder company).

I'm lucky because I went on it for medical reasons so Mommy and Daddy were a-ok with paying for it.

[dzandiloo]

Originally posted by xok85xo
my insurance company does not cover birth control in my state(but in other states i'm assuming they do)

however..they do cover abortion

so who wants to try and explain that one to me?

This is buried in my post above...basically, insurance companies know that very few women are going to take advantage of an abortion benefit compared to the number of women who will take advantage of a BCP benefit. It's all about the almighty dollar, and nothing to do with helping people prevent unplanned pregnancies....

ETA: And believe it or not, its still cheaper for the insurance company to pay for the births of the unplanned pregnancies than it is to pay for all those tens of thousands of monthly packets of BCP's. (this is because most of them have a contracted rate with the hospitals & doctors...that $20,000 bill was probably negotiated down to about $800 a day & the OB-Gyn probably got a $2,000-3,000 global fee).