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Family Planning Saves Health Care Dollars

The Problem of Unintended Pregnancy

Of all industrialized nations, the United States suffers the highest rate of unintended pregnancy (i.e. the pregnancy is either unwanted or badly mistimed). In the U.S., approximately 50% of all pregnancies are unintended. The problem is not just a problem of teenagers and unmarried women: it affects all segments of society. Lack of financial access to effective birth control is one of the main causes. In contrast, other industrialized nations have removed the financial obstacles to effective family planning. U.S. health care experts agree: one of the biggest opportunities for saving health care dollars is preventing unintended pregnancy.

Family Planning Helps Working Families

Family planning helps women and men delay childbearing so they can gain the education and job skills necessary to become responsible parents.

When pregnancy is unintended,

Babies and mothers suffer more health problems;
The father is more likely to be absent;
The risk of child abuse is far greater;
Divorce is three times more likely;
Domestic violence is three times more likely.

Every Employer, Union and Health Insurer Needs to Know...

Without contraception, the average woman will become pregnant more than twelve times in her life. The most effective forms of contraception are generally more expensive, often costing hundreds of dollars at the outset of patient use (for example, Depo Provera, Norplant and IUD's). Women and their families who must pay out of pocket often opt for the less expensive, less effective methods, thus increasing the number of unintended pregnancies.

Birth control is the one prescription women of childbearing age need the most. Nine out of ten voters think family planning services are important; and 78% of those with health insurance favor birth control coverage even if it causes a modest increase in their health plan premium. Furthermore, the vast majority of U.S. Catholics use birth control and do not believe church doctrine should be allowed to dictate individual health decisions.

Given the high rate of unintended pregnancy in the U.S., a health plan need only increase its members' utilization of birth control by 15% to save enough health care dollars to pay for contraception for all plan members. Compare the costs:

Average mother and infant cost for one pregnancy: $10,000
Average cost for first-trimester abortion: $450
Average cost for one year supply of birth control pills: $300

A 1998 cost analysis by the Alan Guttmacher Institute found that the added cost per year to provide coverage of the full range of reversible contraceptives costs approximately $17.12 for employers and $4.28 for employees. Cost is significantly lower for plans that currently cover at least some contraceptives.

Bottom line: it only costs $21.40 per employee per year to add full contraceptive benefits to a health plan.

Institute of Medicine, "The Best Intentions: Unintended Pregnancy and the Well-Being of Children and Families" (1995); Trussell, "The Economic Value of Contraception: A Comparison of 15 Methods," American Journal of Public Health Vol. 85, No. 4 (April, 1995); Kaiser Family Foundation (1995); Catholics for a Free Choice (1998); Alan Guttmacher Institute (1998).