On Tumblr earlier today, I posted a short piece against health insurance coverage for birth control. Mind you, I was not opposing birth control as such, or the idea of women who can’t afford it, getting birth control paid for. What I was saying, was that birth control is not a health issue, and therefore should not be covered through health insurance.
So why is it not a health issue? I acknowledge that it is, in some cases. For example, some women use birth control to prevent premenstrual symptoms or to lessen the risk of ovarian cysts. However, most women use birth control for its intended purpose, which is contraception. And while the right to prvent pregnancy, is a women’s right, it is not a health issue.
So what is it? It’s a matter of reproductive justice and of sexual liberty. Women (and men and people of all genders for that matter) have a right to consensual sex however they please, and this is the reason most people use birth control, and have every right to do so. Making sexual rights about health, however, distracts people from the real point of the discussion, which is that people of all genders have a right to do sexually as they wish as long as they obtain consent from the other people involved. Too often, liberals and feminists, indeed, use tragic examples of the health uses of birth control to draw attention to the need for coverage, but these needs can easily be met without having to admit that every woman has a right to birth control.
Then there is the thing that contraception should not be covered by insurance. The reason behind this is more based on what insurance is for, which is to cover the costs of unforeseen risk. Birth control is, however, there to deal with in most cases a calculated risk. (I know that in cases of rape and incest, this is not true, but these make up the minority of birth control uses.) Women know whether they want to get pregnant, so when they purchase health insurance, their need for birth control is known to them. Besides, we have insurance systems to cover relatively small risks, while in the case of birth control, 99% of all American women have used it in their lifetime, if we have to believe Sen. Gillibrand, which I do. That’s such a substantial number that it’s not something insureable.
On my Tumblr, people commented that men get Viagra paid for through the health insurance industry, too. I at first found this a valid argument, but my husband, with whom I discussed my Tumblr post and its responses, reasoned otherwise. He said that erectile dysfunction is not natural, while getting pregnant after unprotected sex is. I am not sure I agree with this logic, which is based in what it’s meant to be a functioning human.
However,the Viagra comparsion goes awry in one respect, which is what I mentioned above: erectile dysfunction is much less common, and much less calculable, than pregnancy after unprotected sex. Therefore, even if you reason that it’s not a medical problem and therefore doesn’t need health insurance coverage, it could still fulfill the other principles insurance is based on, and people may for example opt to buy additional coverage for this purpose.
Note, again, that I never said that women should have to pay for birth control out-of-pocket just because it’s not an insureable risk or a health matter. My husband proposed, and I agree with this, that there should come some kind of low-income fund, which would pay for birth control for women who can’t afford it otherwise. After all, I am totally for birth control to be affordable to all women.
I have to respectfully disagree on several points and the overall premise.
People are constantly complaining about footing the bill for public programs. Within the scope of those public programs is public assistance and family planning. So, we’re funding a population that wants to prevent welfare babies, another that wants to kill welfare babies, and another that has welfare babies for the specific intention of defrauding the system with their careless procreation. This is not to say that encompasses the entire welfare population, but we cannot deny that we aren’t aware of the existance.
Next, it is said here that ED is not natural. Unfortunately, ED becomes an increasing problem as a man ages. This is because of a significant decline reproductive hormone levels, and various age-related illnesses, such as heart disease. A male advanced senior citizen with a full erection is no more natural than a woman of childbearing age without ovulation.
This is a public health issue as well. The incidence of teen pregnancy becomes alarmingly high when you view populations without adequate access to and education in contraceptive methods. I cannot expect a teenager to remain abstinent. How many horrific back alley abortions have been performed resulting from a denial of contraceptives? Teens are irresponsible and impulsive. Condoms break. And I don’t think that young girls should be forced into a position to take their welfare into their own hands because of an accident.
Finally, and this is my biggest point. You allow for funding of public programs for women to have access to hormonal contraceptives. Those are tax dollars being funneled into something that could be taken care of privately. I pay $3000 a year for private health insurance. And they are practically throwing it from the balconies of every Planned Parenthood in the nation. If I’m paying for what others get for free, it better be covered.
We can call it “preventative care”, because pregnancy comes with significant health risks. I call mine preventative care, because a woman who is heavily medicated should not become pregnant until she is cleared by a doctor, and carefully weened off of that medication.
Hi, Astrid – how have you been?
After reading your piece it’s been an interesting exercise to see the issue from a vantage point that differs from my own. Great post!
LunaSunshine, the Dutch situation which I advocate is that teens get free birth control pills from health care but older women don’t. I would not support widening this to all women for two reasons: 1) birth control is not a medication to a disease you might get, it comes with a choice. That is the risk factor. 2) Birth control is affordable to most women over a certain age, at least in the Netherlands. It would be wiser to make this income dependent, people who cannot afford it should get it for free. This is not about access to birth control, we all agree everybody has a right to access, but how this right should be exercised. All people also have a right to food, but I don’t think there are many people who say we should give people with good incomes free food, we reserve that for people with low incomes.
With respect to ED I have to disagree: it happens to 15% of the man over 70 years old for a full dysfunction and up to 50% of that age group have some degree of dysfunction. It is completely beside the facts to say this happens to all men. There is a high link between ED and diabetes. But are the people over 70 really the main issue with ED? I would say it’s a bigger problem with men from around 50 years old who also get it, often because of diabetes. It’s hard to argue that 50 yo’s don’t want to have sex anymore, or their spouses for that matter. This is why I thought the remarks about Viagra were extremely sexist, no one would argue that diseases that cause women to have trouble in their sexual life should not be insured.
“Then there is the thing that contraception should not be covered by insurance. The reason behind this is more based on what insurance is for, which is to cover the costs of unforeseen risk. Birth control is, however, there to deal with in most cases a calculated risk. (I know that in cases of rape and incest, this is not true, but these make up the minority of birth control uses.) Women know whether they want to get pregnant, so when they purchase health insurance, their need for birth control is known to them. Besides, we have insurance systems to cover relatively small risks, while in the case of birth control, 99% of all American women have used it in their lifetime, if we have to believe Sen. Gillibrand, which I do. That’s such a substantial number that it’s not something insureable.”
Even more people, women and men and children, have annual medical checkups with their doctors. Do you think medical insurance shouldn’t cover annual medical checkups either?
“He said that erectile dysfunction is not natural, while getting pregnant after unprotected sex is.”
Absolutely ridiculous. Does he think it’s artificial? The fact is nature doesn’t always function how we would like and when it doesn’t that doesn’t mean it is not natural. Saying erectile dysfunction is unnatural is like saying being blind is unnatural because other people can see. Are infertile people unnatural because other people can have children? Is having male pattern baldness unnatural because there are men with a full head of hair? Nature isn’t pretty and people often get the short end of the stick.
What about women who need to take birth control pills, for things like avoiding periods because it depresses them to a point where they can’t function. I guess mental health isn’t a health issue, so it doesn’t matter?
i absolutley agree with this argument on contraception. if contraception is,by all means, included with the healthcare insurance plan then a sexual revolution will be released and women across the nation will abuse the pill. Birth control is a personal decison of a woman and the government has no part in this. yes, birth control does lessen the risk of certain syndromes, but like Astrid said, most women use it for it’s main purpose: contraception.
“A sexual revolution”, meaning you are against the idea of women being able to freely have sex without having to worry about getting pregnant if they don’t want a baby or are not yet ready for one?
I have not completely made up my mind as to how I feel about insurance covering birth control. I am partially leaning towards agreeing with Jeroen’s comment about making it free for those who can’t afford it, and having it on a sliding scale basis. However then there are those who use birth control pills to treat medical conditions. Also, mental and emotional health should also be taken into account. If a woman is in the middle of completing her education, or establishing herself in the professional world, throwing a baby that was not planned for into the mix could lead to depression, guilt, resentment, or suicide.
I really don’t understand about your comment, Astrid, “women will abuse the pill”? Do you think women will be popping like 10 at a time? I’m guessing that most women who want to prevent pregnancy will take the correct dosage amount.
Birth Control should be available but at the consumers choice. Arguments for off label use don’t stand from an insurance point of view as drugs are only approved officially for their marketed use even though there are some off label advantages to some. This stand in the hospitals for the most point which is why doctors sometimes have to be a bit creative with their usage. Health insurance should only be considered standard if the treatments covered are for underlying conditions, preventative health should be the responsibility of the consumer. This is why so many lifestyle choices are questioned before a premium is settled upon, smokers require higher premiums because they are a calculated risk. As such it would be fair to cover women would be more expensive then men as they are a calculated risk. If women would be willing to pay higher premiums then i see no argument from a business standpoint . There is no justification to providing free health care to people who voluntarily subject themselves to greater risk. People who use intravenous drugs, who smoke, who have unprotected sex, who overeat all make choices to put themselves at risk hoping that the rest of us will foot the bill when their poor choices catch up with them. Basic health insurance should be all that is issued to all persons paid or well fare. This way the playing field is truly equal and people are made to be responsible for their own poor choices. As adults this should be the standard way of practice. I do believe up until an age of legal responsibility there should be full concessions made in the area of health care but once you are an adult its time that we as a country expect adults to take responsibilities for their own actions, or at least pay for their own risky activities. The truth is not only are women a higher expense risk they also want compensation for preventative measures. I believe that to help even the field women who are on self paid birth control should receive insurance discounts the same way non smokers do. However i still believe preventative is not the responsibility for the insurance companies or the state to maintain. We need to stop letting the people who want welfare support of the government make the rules and offer the exact same treatment to everyone and make individuals who are the exception pay for their own exceptions.
I don’t see why it shouldn’t be covered by health insurance. Birth control is a big deal, especially with our youth, and I feel that it needs be as easy as possible to obtain.
I do not understand the argument that it should not be covered because it is “preventative” So is an annual exam. So is breast cancer screening.. cervical cancer screening and most other kinds of cancer screening. I think MORE preventative
things should be covered. It costs a lot more to treat and cure something than to prevent it. Especially kids. Also.. the pill can slash your risk for both endometrial and ovarian cancer by more than 70 percent after 12 years; even just one to five years may lower your risk by 40 percent. They work by reducing the number of times you ovulate in your lifetime: Ovulation may trigger cell changes in the ovaries that can lead to cancer.
Birth control pills can be used to treat women who have recurrent ovarian cysts with their menstrual cycles.
Those with heavy menstrual bleeding, your risk of developing anemia is elevated. Most OC takers bleed less for a shorter time, and have little or no cramping
Endometriosis, a condition in which uterine-lining tissue grows in other pelvic areas, can lead to scarring, severe pain, and sometimes infertility. The Pill stops the growth of tissue in other areas by reducing the hormones that cause the lining to build up.
While the Pill doesn’t cure PCOS – a hormonal disorder that triggers irregular cycles, excessive hair growth, and acne – it does offer symptom relief to sufferers.
According to a study cited by the Centers for Disease Control, “an estimated 32,101 pregnancies result from rape each year,” in the United States.. That does not include those that are unreported, due to incest, or those from domestic assault.
I think with all these things, and others not so prevalent, the need for birth control is bigger than the need for Viagra.
All of these things are much more serious, far reaching and expensive, than some guy that can’t get his thing up.
Many of us who need birth control want to locate the process that’s greatest for people. Use My Method to find out which birth control procedures may be right for you. Here are a few of the most frequent questions we hear women ask about the pill.