New York Times reports that out-of-pocket spending on “most major birth control methods fell sharply in the months after the Affordable Care Act began requiring insurance plans to cover contraception at no cost…………….
Study Shows Out-Of-Pocket Costs For Contraception Have Fallen Sharply Under ACA.
The New York Times (7/8, Tavernise, Subscription Publication) reports that out-of-pocket spending on “most major birth control methods fell sharply in the months after the Affordable Care Act began requiring insurance plans to cover contraception at no cost to women, a new study has found.” The study , published online in Health Affairs yesterday, found that spending on the pill fell by about half in the first half of 2013, compared with the same period in 2012. Researchers were not able to “definitively establish” whether the ACA was behind the decrease in spending, “but experts said the magnitude and timing of the decline suggested that it was.”
The Huffington Post (7/8, Lachman) reports the study shows annual out-of-pocket savings “were $248 for IUDs and $255 annually for oral contraceptives.” The article notes the ACA requires insurers to cover all contraception methods “approved by the Food and Drug Administration without any form of cost-sharing, like copayments or deductibles.”
Newsweek (7/8) reports that Nora Becker, a physician and Ph.D. candidate at Perelman School of Medicine and the department of Health Care Management and Economics in the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and lead author of the report, said, “It turns out the law is doing exactly what the law says should be done,” adding, “I was surprised by the speed at which we’ve seen a drop in price.”
Also covering the story are CNBC (7/8, Mangan), Kaiser Health News (7/8, Rovner), TIME (7/8, Linshi), Vox (7/8, Kliff), and HealthDay (7/8, Preidt).
