by Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux
A new report from the Guttmacher Institute today revealed that contraceptive providers are having trouble meeting the growing recession-fueled demands for birth control. Because women of reproductive age are disproportionately uninsured, they tend to be more eligible for free or reduced-cost care, which creates an even more challenging financial situation for family planning centers that strive to provide contraception to people regardless of income or ability to pay. The recession is exacerbating the strain on already-limited resources, and according to the report,
“Two-thirds of the responding centers reported an increase in the number of clients seeking contraceptive services between the first quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009, and more than four in five reported an increase in the number of clients who are poor or low-income and therefore eligible for free or reduced-fee care. In addition, nearly two-thirds reported a decline in the number of clients who are able to pay the full fee for services.”
This is obviously a very serious problem, especially for college-aged women like me, who are facing the years after our college health centers provide us with subsidized birth control. And it’s yet another reason that we need to pass health care – because affordable birth control is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. Women are caught in a double bind: they need to make sure that they’re avoiding unintended pregnancies, but can’t afford the contraceptives needed to do so. And the centers that work tirelessly to provide affordable birth control are being stretched thin.
“It is time to bolster the nation’s family planning system to help women avoid unintended pregnancies and the unplanned births and abortions that would result,” said Dr. Sharon Camp, Guttmacher president and CEO. Compared with Americans overall, women of reproductive age are more likely to lack health insurance, and lower income and younger women (those 29 and younger)—who are already at the greatest risk for unintended pregnancy—are even less likely to be insured.
Although some centers seem to be able to weather the recession, many are not. The report says,
“More than half of responding centers reported one or more service delivery challenges related to staffing or cutbacks in services. Nearly half reported staff layoffs or a hiring freeze. One-third reported cutbacks in the number of contraceptive methods offered, typically the long-acting and more effective methods like the IUD and implant (which have high up-front costs) and some brands of birth control pills. A quarter reported longer wait times for clients seeking care.”
In a time when these centers are most necessary, they’re forced to significantly cut their services back. This is unacceptable. Dr. Camp suggests that we lobby policymakers to “focus on practical steps to strengthen this safety net by increasing the number of Americans with health insurance that includes contraceptive coverage, expanding Medicaid family planning coverage, ensuring that family planning centers are integrated into health plans as in-network service providers and ensuring that reimbursements to providers are adequate to cover the cost of their services and supplies.” That seems like a good starting place. But most of all, we need to be aware of the crucial services that family planning centers provide – and support them however possible.
