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• The High Cost of Birth Control

  The other day I posted a coupon for NuvaRing, a form of birth control. With the upcoming charge to to make birth control without copays mandatory, people who aren’t familiar with the costs of BC could wonder what the fuss is about. A few key points on the cost of birth control:

  • Women typically pay between $15 and $50 a month in co-pays for birth control pills — $180 to $600 a year.
  • More than half of women aged 18–34 say that the cost of prescription birth control has made it hard for them to use birth control consistently.
  • A couple using no birth control has an 85 percent chance of becoming pregnant in one year.

  Here’s a chart with a rough breakdown of the cost per year of various types of birth control. (source)

  Method Effectiveness Cost Per Year Birth Control Pills 95 percent $160 to $600 Birth Control Patch 95 percent $160 to $600 Cervical Cap 77 to 83 percent $35 to $60 Condoms 85 percent $150 Diaphragm 85 percent $60 Fertility-Awareness 75 to 88 percent Free IUDs 99 percent $100 (varies) Shot (Depo-Provera) 99 percent $220 to $460 Sterilization 99 percent $30 to $200 (varies) Vaginal Ring (NuvaRing) 95 percent $160 to $600 Vaginal Sponge 68 to 84 percent $500 Abstinence 100 percent

  Free

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