The Affordable Care Act is Working

Cost is a clear obstacle to contraceptive choice, particularly for women seeking methods with substantial upfront costs, such as the IUD. Our study published in the journal Contraception highlights the importance of the contraceptive coverage guarantee of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in reducing these cost barriers. The study found that 87% of insured women would not have had to pay out of pocket for a hormonal IUD by the spring of 2014, a substantial increase from the 42% of women who would not have had to pay out of pocket before the implementation of the ACA provision in 2012. This increase occurred across all age-groups and regions of the country.

Terms of Use

The Guttmacher Institute encourages you to share this infographic freely to ensure that the debate is informed by facts, not misinformation.

Sources

Bearak JM et al., Changes in out-of-pocket costs for hormonal IUDs after implementation of the Affordable Care Act: an analysis of insurance benefit inquiries,Contraception, 2015, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.contraception.2015.08.018.