Despite legislation in 19 US states requiring insurers to cover a 12-month supply of contraception, patients aren’t receiving a year’s worth of their prescription; most receive just three months or less. This leaves many patients at an increased risk for unintended pregnancy.
https://news.ohsu.edu/2024/09/19/ohsu-study-reveals-gaps-in-access-to-long-term-contraceptive-supplies
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I’ve linked to the press release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2822787
From the linked article:
Oregon Health & Science University researchers have found that despite legislation in 19 states requiring insurers to cover a 12-month supply of contraception, patients aren’t receiving a year’s worth of their prescription; most receive just three months or less.
Their study recently published in the journal JAMA Health Forum shows that policies requiring coverage of a 12-month supply of short-acting hormonal contraception — most commonly the birth control pill — have not been fully implemented, resulting in no substantial increases nationally in year-long prescription orders. This leaves many patients at an increased risk for unintended pregnancy.
A common cause for decreased effectiveness with the pill is breaks in use, often due to running out of a prescription or a lapse in obtaining a refill. However, dispensing a longer-term supply of contraception — six or 12 months — is linked to improved continuous use, fewer breaks in coverage and health system savings.
“In our current health care landscape, where reproductive rights are constantly under attack, it’s critical to remove barriers and ensure broad access to contraception,” Rodriguez said. “We need providers to be following this prescribing practice as their default and patients to know that it’s their right to ask for it.”
Free on demand in the UK.
12 month supply?! I have to call my pharmacy every single month to receive mine.
Pregnancy is a fuckload more expensive than birth control pills even when it goes smoothly. You’d think the insurance companies would be happily paying for them.
You cant get pregnant while already pregnant, average length of a pregnancy is 9 months and 9 + 3 is 12, the math checks out.
I have had pharmacies refuse to negotiate with the insurance company to give me the 90-day supply my doctor prescribed. (90 days b/c they know 12 months won’t get approved.) Insurance will only approve 1 month at a time. Even online and pharmacies will only send 3 months at a time.
Reminder that the FDA approved an OTC progestin-only birth control pill that you can buy at pharmacies or online, no prescription or physician visit needed (however, it is a good idea to talk to a doctor about starting or stopping medication) https://opill.com/
Part of The Handmaid’s Tale scenario in Project 2025.