Myra Batchelder Discusses Contraception on RH Reality Check
The Director of the National Institute’s Low Income Access Program, Myra Batchelder has an article on RH Reality Check about the possible cost barriers to over-the-counter contraception.
A number of pilot projects in England have begun offering hormonal birth control pills over-the-counter at pharmacies. Although the benefits of being able to obtain birth control pills without having to see a doctor or get a prescription are clear, Batchelder warns that before we move to an over-the-counter model, we must ensure that costs remain affordable for all women:
We must ensure that public and private health insurance programs will provide coverage for over-the-counter oral contraceptives so that all women will be able to obtain the product - not just those who can afford to pay a high price.
Batchelder points to the lessons learned when emergency contraception (EC) became available over-the-counter. Most state Medicaid programs still require women to obtain a prescription in order for EC to be covered. As a result, the cost of over-the-counter EC remains prohibitively high for many low income women.
In the end, we must be aware of the cost and insurance barriers across the entire spectrum of reproductive health care, Batchelder says:
Ensuring access to reproductive health care, including contraception and abortion, is about more than just the legal ability to obtain these services. As advocates we need to work to ensure that all women have access to needed contraception and abortion services, regardless of their socioeconomic status or the health care program in which they participate. We will not have true reproductive rights until all women have the ability to access quality reproductive health care.
The long-term goal is to establish a universal health care system that will provide everyone with access to all needed medical services, including abortion and over-the-counter contraception. The important steps along the way include providing Medicaid and other public and private insurance coverage for over-the-counter EC and other forms of birth control without a prescription, as well as for abortion.
Together, we can work to achieve this. As advocates we must always recognize the cost and insurance pieces of any reproductive health care service and work to ensure that all women have access; cost must never be a barrier to accessing these services.
By Maya Dusenbery