Is BC covered in your insurance plan?

[IamJen]

I was thinking about this while posting in the "favorite bc" thread.

For me, it's not covered, even when using the pill, etc. for medical, non-sexy reasons.

[MollyGoat]

It is. I pay a $15 copay for my generic BC pills. Otherwise it would cost me $45 per month. I am on a low-dose pill so it may cost more than most.

I will be graduating soon and not covered by my parents' policy anymore, so this may change soon. Fortunately my parents are well-off enough that they are going to buy me an individual policy until I can get coverage through work, etc. So I hope I can get it covered by that, along with chiropractic and the other good stuff...

[April]

I haven't used my new insurance yet- I transferred universities. Both use Aetna, but they each have special student plans. I paid $1100 up front in insurance at my last school, and BC pills were covered. It was $20 for a 3 month supply. I'm hoping it's still the same with what I have now, but I only paid $850, so maybe not...

[SpunkyChild]

I can't get BC on my school's health insurance--Catholic school :brood: but my fam finally got health insurance, and it covers $25 bucks of it (not much cheaper--it's usually $35 because there is no generic version of it yet).

I'm about to graduate, so I'm hoping that when I get a job that I'll still have insurance for it.

[rabid_child]

I have a $20 copay on my BC. If I went to generic, I'd have a $10 copay, but I refuse to. I'm happy to pay another $10 a month since it gives me more peace of mind.

ETA: When I first got on it, I was with Oxford, and my doctor had to write a letter to my insurance company explaining the medical reason she was prescribing it. Now I have Blue Cross/Blue Shield and they've never questioned it.

[Dirty Martini]

When I was in the US, some forms were covered, some weren't.

The pill was sorta covered - I paid $10 for the generics ($30 for the brand name). The diaphragm was partially covered. Depo was partially covered as well. But those were the only ones that our insurance would help with.

I looked into getting an IUD, but my insurance wouldn't pay for any of it and I was looking at something like $2000 out of pocket after all the fittings & checkups were done. (yes, cheaper than a baby, but still...)

I find it silly that insurance companies wouldn't cover BC - especially when it would seem much cheaper in the long run for them to do so (instead of having to cover a pregnancy & new child).

[MollyGoat]

No kidding.

Also, my insurance won't cover brand-names if the generic is available. If I was using the brand-name I'd be paying $50 instead of $15.

[revelsunrise]

In NY state, there are health departments set up all over. If you are a full time student, BC of any sort is absolutely free.

Now and OT sidenote: And yet, most of the girls I went to high school with have babies.

[Christy]

My HMO copay for brand prescriptions recently went from $20 to $25, but yeah it's covered. Generic went from $5 to $10. I can't bring myself to take the generic, even if there was a generic form of Yasmin.

[CarbLover]

I pay $17/copay for generic. Normal price is around $28. Funny thing is I can get name brand bc from Canada for less with no insurance assistance.

[holly golightly]

no! not even a crummy copay?? wretched people. $400 buckaroos to keep the world a better place yet theyll.... well dont get me started, i know you ppl have heard me gripe enough. anyway no nothin.... im not bitter, really im not. :) heh.

actually it is cheap since it lasts for ten years thats what.... shoot thats cheaper than the pill. even when the pill was my method $30 a month doesnt kill me, it could be a heck of a lot worse... like before many bc methods were invented so i thank my lucky stars for those geniuses.

[kristadb]

I don't have insurance anymore, but I've had it through a few employers/schools/military/spousal military previously. I didn't know birth control could be refused until I started reading message boards w/ Americans on it. Perhaps there are insurances in Canada that don't cover it, but I have not encounter it (or people w/ that insurance) yet.

Now, my doctor just gives it to me for free.

[skarrlett]

Yep, any type. Injection, the pill, patch, etc.. It doesn't cost me a dime.

[bethann]

Delaware mandates coverage, but DH's employer would pay anyway (liberal non-profit.)

[Sassy Cassie]

I have Tri-Care (military insurance) and most forms of BC are covered. I just got an IUD and am waiting to see how much, if anything, I will have to pay out of pocket.

[MrsKey]

I have no idea.

I don't think our plan covers it. But I don't use it so I've never really looked into it.

I know that they do not cover Viagra or any other ED medication either so at least they are consistent.

[Jessica]

In the UK any method of birth control is 100% free to everyone.

[tearhsong2]

Ours pays a small amount for name brands, more for generics (which is standard for most insurance companies in the US for any medication these days). I don't use bc at the moment, so I don't know what the exact amounts are.

[Morticia]

My university's clinic is odd. No medications are covered under the student plan, but bc is "subsidized." This means that I pay less then I did when I *was* insured. *blinks* ok... i'm not going to complain or anything, but that's just weird.

[kristadb]

I have no idea.

I don't think our plan covers it. But I don't use it so I've never really looked into it.

I know that they do not cover Viagra or any other ED medication either so at least they are consistent.

If he can't get it up, you don't need birth control anyways :p

[vggiegirl]

No, So I order from Canada.

[MrsKey]

If he can't get it up, you don't need birth control anyways :p

True.

But the plan we used to have (about 2 years ago) would cover ED meds but not birth control. Which always seemed pretty stupid to me. I mean ... WTF?!?!

Not that we use it ... but it just didn't seem logical.