# Birth Control Foe in Charge of Family Planning **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 17, 2007, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control-foe-in-charge-of-family-planning/423095 "2007-10-17T21:47:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control-foe-in-charge-of-family-planning/423095/21 "2007-10-18T04:48:41Z")
[QUOTE=Cat Fight] Do check-ups count? Pap smears? Mammograms? Most women get them yearly, albeit voluntarily. I’d lump birth control in the same group as preventive care. [/QUOTE] Pap smear are test done to prevent something that you have virtually no control over. I think a better analogy for birth control pills is tooth paste (for most women). Does your insurance company pay for your tooth paste? ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_Stream](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c2a13f/32.png) [@Carol\_Stream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_Stream)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control-foe-in-charge-of-family-planning/423095/22 "2007-10-18T04:57:50Z")
[QUOTE=Cat Fight] Do check-ups count? Pap smears? Mammograms? Most women get them yearly, albeit voluntarily. I’d lump birth control in the same group as preventive care. [/QUOTE] Preventive care, such as Pap smears and Mammograms, are used to prevent actual diseases, like cervical or breast cancer. Pregnancy is not a disease, so why would you include it in the same group? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control-foe-in-charge-of-family-planning/423095/23 "2007-10-18T05:17:53Z")
[QUOTE=Carol Stream] Preventive care, such as Pap smears and Mammograms, are used to prevent actual diseases, like cervical or breast cancer. [/quote] False. Preventive care also prevents other stuff, like unwanted pregnancies. > [@](#): > > Pregnancy is not a disease, so why would you include it in the same group? Birth control is a necessary component of a woman’s health, retard. Unwanted pregnancies can be devestating both physically and emotionally (not to mention economically). That’s why I only fuck your mother in the ass. Plus, guess what, defect, birth control prevents abortion. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs\_Johnson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Mrs\_Johnson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs_Johnson)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control-foe-in-charge-of-family-planning/423095/24 "2007-10-18T06:03:52Z")
I’m currently paying $52 per pack because my insurance doesn’t cover the only BC that has worked for me. It pisses me off. Insurance will cover every aspect of pregnancy, childbirth, etc. but not the damn pills. Which costs more? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control-foe-in-charge-of-family-planning/423095/25 "2007-10-18T06:18:58Z")
[QUOTE=Mrs Johnson] I’m currently paying $52 per pack because my insurance doesn’t cover the only BC that has worked for me. It pisses me off. Insurance will cover every aspect of pregnancy, childbirth, etc. but not the damn pills. Which costs more? [/QUOTE] Sounds like you’ve got a great business plan to start an insurance company. Why don’t you run with that and then report back to us in a few years to tell us how it works out…? > [@DtC](#): > > False. Preventive care also prevents other stuff, like unwanted pregnancies. Pregnancy isn’t a disease. A pap smear is taken in order to detect something that might happen to you due to mere chance. It’s not something you take in order to prevent a disease. You brush your teeth in order to prevent cavities. You get a check-up to determine if you have any. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control-foe-in-charge-of-family-planning/423095/26 "2007-10-18T06:36:33Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] Sounds like you’ve got a great business plan to start an insurance company. Why don’t you run with that and then report back to us in a few years to tell us how it works out…? Pregnancy isn’t a disease. A pap smear is taken in order to detect something that might happen to you due to mere chance. It’s not something you take in order to prevent a disease. You brush your teeth in order to prevent cavities. You get a check-up to determine if you have any. [/QUOTE] I’m saying that saying preventative care has to prevent a “disease” is a bogus criterion. Health care is not just about diseases. It’s also about stuff like birth control. The argument that birth control doesn’t prevent disease is irrelevant. Preventing _pain_ is a routine and necessary part of health care and pain is not a disease. Neither is acne or obesity or athletes foot or impotence or childbirth, yet all those things get covered. Not only that but contraceptive pills can be presecribed for reasons having nothing to do with birth control. This whole “disease” thing is a red herring and has no relevance to the debate. It’s a fake circumscription of necessary health care. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control-foe-in-charge-of-family-planning/423095/27 "2007-10-18T08:26:27Z")
John – are you using prescription toothpaste? Because it’s my understanding that in most cases dispensing of birth control pills is by prescription. Further, is health insurance solely for the curing of sickness? Granted, the potential for scurvy doesn’t make it appropriate for health insurance to cover orange juice, but actions taken to remain healthy, to avoid unwanted pregnancy (which is not equated with ‘remaining healthy’), etc., are legitimate functions of health care providers – and properly the subject of coverage by decent insurance plans. (Whether the American health insurance system is ethical is a whole different question.) ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control-foe-in-charge-of-family-planning/423095/28 "2007-10-18T09:12:04Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] … That’s why I only fuck your mother in the ass… [/QUOTE] OK, she pisses me off sometimes, too, but Cheese Louise…you _sure_ your from Minnesota? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control-foe-in-charge-of-family-planning/423095/29 "2007-10-18T13:28:31Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] Pap smear are test done to prevent something that you have virtually no control over. I think a better analogy for birth control pills is tooth paste (for most women). Does your insurance company pay for your tooth paste? [/QUOTE] Yeah, it covers prescription toothpaste (extra fluoride and medicated mouthwashes, usually used post-surgery). As for regular toothpaste, it costs $2 a tube and is used by both men and women. I can’t wait for the draft to bee reinstated (see: Great Debates) and for the female soldiers’ BC not to be covered. It’ll be like one giant, bloody mess, with Bush riding off into the sunset (on an atom bomb, of course). ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control-foe-in-charge-of-family-planning/423095/30 "2007-10-18T13:34:56Z")
I thought it was masterful myself. Just the right personal touch. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control-foe-in-charge-of-family-planning/423095/31 "2007-10-18T14:02:33Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] “Expected” in the sense that the vast majority of women who are sexually active use some sort of birth control. Insurance companies need to decide whether it’s more cost effective to pay for birth control or to pay for unexpected maternity costs (assuming they pay for the latter). But frankly, I expect most women (or couples) will pony up and pay for their own birth control expenses. I would consider that just one of many normal expenses that pretty much every adult has. Insurance shouldn’t pay for those types of things. [/QUOTE] Birth control every month costs less in the long run than medical care for a pregnancy and the resulting child. Is it really fair that the cheapest birth control pill is still around $35 per month? It costs less to use condoms every day of the month, but condoms don’t fix the many problems that birth control helps with. I started out on them to keep my period regular\* and easier to deal with, and I continue to take them for the benefit of me not getting pregnant while I’m in a stable, long term relationship with my SO. Why should I have to pay extra to keep my body functioning normally when it doesn’t do so on its own? Do you object to prescription medication coverage for people with chronic health issues that “pretty much everyone has” as well? Should insurance cover immunization? Most of the US population uses them and it’s an expected expense when having kids, so why should insurance be obligated to cover it? \*see spoilerI had my period once every ten months, and the resulting period was the culmination of those missing ten months of periods. I couldn’t keep the blood and clots from staining all of my clothes, even with pads and tampons combined. It’s humiliating to have to deal with stains like that when everyone else around you had normal, fairly light periods. I was very irritable, and the cramps sucked. That, and, well, giant clots are disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control-foe-in-charge-of-family-planning/423095/32 "2007-10-18T14:08:57Z")
Some more gems. It’s not as if Orr is looking at things from the financial end (which I think is next to impossible if you regularly interact with fertile girls and women from different backgrounds who benefit from subsidized BC and gyno services). She’s got a crazy ass agenda. I don’t want this to be another ‘That’s our Bush!’ moment when everything shakes their head at the heartbreaking irony. This is truly, truly [messed up](http://thinkprogress.org/2007/10/17/susan-orr). > [@](#): > > UPDATE: Jill at Feministe points out that Orr has also referred to child protection as “the most intrusive arm of social services.” > > UDPATE II: Take action opposing Orr’s nomination HERE. > > UPDATE III: Statement on Orr from Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA): > > This appointment is absurd. Dr. Orr’s support of unproven abstinence-only programs would in itself raise flags about her commitment to comprehensive family planning for low-income girls and women. But in 2000, Dr. Orr said that requiring insurers to cover family planning supplies and services — a policy that promotes access to contraception in many states and the federal employee health program — is “about making everyone collaborators with the culture of death.” This leaves little doubt about where she has stood on contraception access. […] > > I’m no longer surprised by this kind of decision — ideology firmly holds the reins over reproductive health in this White House. But this lack of commitment to comprehensive reproductive health, combined with cramped budgets, is an insult and a disservice to the millions of low-income people who rely on Title X for family planning and preventive health services. ---
**Author:** ![redtail23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@redtail23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redtail23)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control-foe-in-charge-of-family-planning/423095/33 "2007-10-18T14:12:28Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] Sounds like you’ve got a great business plan to start an insurance company. Why don’t you run with that and then report back to us in a few years to tell us how it works out…? [/QUOTE] Well, the low end of the average range of a vaginal birth with no complications is around $5000. That’s just the delivery, mind you, not the pre- and post-natal care, etc. At $52 per month, the cost of one such delivery would cover birth control for 96 months (8 years) for one woman. If the insurance company pays for prescriptions, there’s really not any good reason to single out birth control prescriptions from acne medication, reflux medication, and Viagra. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control-foe-in-charge-of-family-planning/423095/34 "2007-10-18T14:14:44Z")
[QUOTE=Cervaise] Worst. President. Ever. [/QUOTE] He’s still not quite as bad as Franklin Roosevelt. But I’m willing to be patient. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control-foe-in-charge-of-family-planning/423095/35 "2007-10-18T14:28:02Z")
[QUOTE=redtail23] If the insurance company pays for prescriptions, there’s really not any good reason to single out birth control prescriptions from acne medication, reflux medication, and Viagra. [/QUOTE] I can think of one, though there’s a question attached: Do insurance companies pay out for acne medication etc if you are known to have a pre-existing condition which makes it highly likely that they will have to pay out? ---
**Author:** ![redtail23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@redtail23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redtail23)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control-foe-in-charge-of-family-planning/423095/36 "2007-10-18T14:42:54Z")
[QUOTE=Malacandra] I can think of one, though there’s a question attached: Do insurance companies pay out for acne medication etc if you are known to have a pre-existing condition which makes it highly likely that they will have to pay out? [/QUOTE] Huh? Depending on your insurance and how you obtained it, insurance companies can write policies and/or add “riders” that exclude coverage, for pre-existing conditions or whatever else they want (and you’ll agree to). Generally such a rider would exclude any coverage, whether medication or treatment. The exclusion can be temporary (e.g., 12 months for pre-existing conditions) or permanent. For example, there are policies that do not cover ANY reproductive-services care. For employer-provided insurance, the HIPAA regulations restrict exclusions for pre-existing conditions and for reproductive services (including birth control and pregnancy coverage). I’ve never heard of a “conditional coverage” that would make prescription coverage dependent on the likelihood of other treatment. Did that answer your question? Because I didn’t really understand what you were asking. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control-foe-in-charge-of-family-planning/423095/37 "2007-10-18T14:48:30Z")
Why the huh? I thought it was clear enough: Do insurance companies cover you for medication when, at the time of taking out the policy, it’s clear that they’re about certain to be paying out for it? The reason’s obvious: assuming the cost of the premium is less than the cost of the contraception, it’s a clear money-loser for the insurer to be covering contraception, 'cos pretty much every woman of reproductive age is going to be claiming. ---
**Author:** ![redtail23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@redtail23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redtail23)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control-foe-in-charge-of-family-planning/423095/38 "2007-10-18T15:13:58Z")
[QUOTE=Malacandra] Why the huh? I thought it was clear enough: Do insurance companies cover you for medication when, at the time of taking out the policy, it’s clear that they’re about certain to be paying out for it? The reason’s obvious: assuming the cost of the premium is less than the cost of the contraception, it’s a clear money-loser for the insurer to be covering contraception, 'cos pretty much every woman of reproductive age is going to be claiming. [/QUOTE] Sorry, I just didn’t get your question the way it was worded. Yes, insurance companies do pay for medication that they know, at the time of coverage, they will be paying for. I currently take medication for GERD. Since my insurance is through my employer, if I change policies or change employers, my new insurance would also cover such medication (presuming they had prescription coverage). To the best of my knowledge, I will always have to take medication for this condition. Ditto for heart medication, diabetes medication, acne medication, depression medication, and any other medication for chronic conditions. If I were to get private insurance, I might have to deal with pre-existing condition exclusions, and/or pay much higher premiums for such coverage, depending on the insurance carrier and their policies. This is one of the many, many problems with our current insurance system, but I won’t go any further down that route. Insurance companies also pay for children’s vaccinations and such. They know prior to coverage that they will be paying for them. In general, it is much less expensive to pay for preventive medication than to pay for the medical treatment required if the preventive medication is unavailable. Pregnancy is no different than other conditions preventable or treatable by such medications. See previous posts for details. As I said, there are policies that don’t cover any reproductive services - I wouldn’t necessarily expect such policies to cover birth control, since they wouldn’t cover any pregnancy-related costs either. But it makes _no sense_ for a policy that pays for pregnancy and childbirth services to exclude birth control. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control-foe-in-charge-of-family-planning/423095/39 "2007-10-18T15:22:11Z")
[QUOTE=elucidator] OK, she pisses me off sometimes, too, but Cheese Louise…you _sure_ your from Minnesota? [/QUOTE] Well, I’m a transplant. Plus I have a Sicilian father. ---
**Author:** ![hawksgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ed655f/32.png) [@hawksgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawksgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2007, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control-foe-in-charge-of-family-planning/423095/40 "2007-10-18T15:33:14Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] Pregnancy isn’t a disease. [/QUOTE] Really? Because my theory is that pregnancy is the worst STD. It clears up, but it takes about 18 years and you are never the same afterward. Plus its reeeally expensive. Just wanted to throw that out there. On a more productive note, if birth control shouldn’t be covered by insurance, then it shouldn’t be a prescription medication either. If I have to pay for it alone because some idiot thinks its immoral or a medical luxury, then I don’t want to have to go to a doctor to get a scrip for it, as that implies that it is medically recommended. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control-foe-in-charge-of-family-planning/423095.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control-foe-in-charge-of-family-planning/423095.md?page=3)