THERE are some things in this world that just don't make sense: those crop circles in Iowa, supposedly made by aliens, the fact that the Spice Girls came out of two-hit-wonder oblivion long enough to put out a new album, and the fact that people actually are buying it.
Here's another thing to add to the list: the costs resulting from unplanned pregnancy are far greater than the cost of prevention. Studies show that health insurers can save money by preventing unintended pregnancy. Yet many health insurance providers in this country do not cover oral contraceptives or contraceptive devices under their policies.
QualChoice, the health insurance coverage plan sponsored by the University, is no exception. Oral contraceptives and contraceptive devices are not covered in either of the two plans QualChoice offers to students, and they should be.
At most other universities, the story is different, and usually better. Other large public four-year universities in the Southeast give some type of discount on oral contraceptives, either through student insurance or the school's student health center.
Under the insurance coverage sponsored by many North Carolina universities, including UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, and East Carolina University, full prescription coverage up to $400 per year is provided, including prescriptions for oral contraceptives. At Virginia Tech, all oral contraceptives are offered at a partial co-pay.
Other schools offer birth control pills for fairly cheap prices. James Madison University sells about a year's worth of oral contraceptives to students for $85, after they attend an information session on women's health. The student health center of Marshall University in West Virginia even offers birth control pills free of charge. Here at the University, Student Health sells birth control pills to women for the cost of $16 for a month's supply.
The logic behind the decisions not to cover contraceptives is mystifying. The link between the lack of insurance coverage for contraceptives and unintended pregnancy is clear. In 1995, the Institute of Medicine Committee on Unintended Pregnancy determined that one of the main reasons for the high rates of unplanned pregnancy in the U.S. was due to private health insurance plans not covering contraceptives.
The study also concluded that all forms of prescription contraception are very cost effective. In the end, contraception actually saves health care dollars because the costs of labor, delivery and health care for unintended pregnancy are so high compared to the costs of all methods of contraception.
Consider that the cost for the care of a mother and infant for one pregnancy is, on average, $10,000 (www.covermypills.com). Compare that to the average cost for a first-trimester abortion: $450. Finally, compare that to the average cost for one year's supply of birth control pills, which is $300. The math here is anything but fuzzy. It follows basic arithmetic, not to mention basic common sense, that contraceptives are cheaper than unplanned pregnancies.
QualChoice doesn't want to add contraceptives to its coverage, because such a move would raise premiums slightly for everyone, which seems reasonable. If anything should be added to the insurance policy, however, oral contraceptives and contraceptive devices should be the first thing to top the list.
Most people have a stake in these things being covered because sex, presumably, is something most people do every once in a while. And, because sex is inherently a two-person act, each of the two people involved is responsible for the outcome of that act. The amount they pay in preventing pregnancy should reflect that.
As things stand, with women being forced to pay for oral contraceptives out of their own pockets, the entire burden of preventing pregnancy is placed on the women's shoulders. A study called Women's Health Insurance Costs and Experience concluded that "women pay 68 percent more than men in out-of-pocket costs for health care" and "reproductive health care constitutes the majority of these expenses."
Raising insurance premiums so that the cost of preventing pregnancy is distributed evenly over men and women would be better than placing the full burden on women, which isn't an accurate reflection of the fact that both partners should be responsible for the consequences of sex.
In an effort to get contraceptives covered by the QualChoice insurance plan, a group of University students has formed the Contraceptive Coverage Committee. The Committee wrote letters of complaint to QualChoice and is circulating a petition to Student Council. Council will have meetings with Qual Choice representatives in which they can raise issues such as contraceptvie coverage, and ultimately will vote on whether or not to endorse the QualChoice policy plan. Sign the petition and tell your Student Council representative that contraceptives should be covered under the University-sponsored health plan.
(Laura Sahramaa's column appears Fridays in The Cavalier Daily.)
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