Friday, August 8, 2008

Expressions: The Breakdown of Birth Control Costs!

Breakdown of Birth Control Costs~ How much are you really paying each month!?
Okay.....you wanna hear something really crazy? Sure ya do! Well here goes! I'm sure many of you know how expensive oral contraceptives (birth control) can be. Many of you probably also know how insurance companies generally do not pay (or pay very little) of the cost of birth control, leaving the person who takes the pill with an expensive bill at the pharmacy each month. To me it is ironic to think that the insurance company will help assume financial responsibility for the care of a pregnant woman including an expensive labor & delivery bill, but not help cover the costs of birth control pills for the woman who says...."I do not wish to get pregnant at this time...." It's all mind boggling to me! When I worked at the Family Practice that I used to work at, I was fortunate enough to have all the birth control samples I ever wanted & needed....but today that is not the case. I'm on my own like soooo many other woman who have made the decision to take the pill. Are you ready for the crazy stuff I wanted to tell you?! Okay!
The current birth control pills that I take (and have taken for many years) costs me a whopping $67.00 a month. My insurance is so kind to cover a few dollars for me and $67.00 is what I am responsible for. Let's do some math, my friends................................
$67.oo a month, divided by 30 days in a month = $2.23 a day. (for that little tiny pill!)
So is it worth it? Let's break it down....
If you do the do (you know what I'm saying) x amount of times per month, this is the cost-
Once a day (or 30 times a month) = $2.23 each time.
Four times a week (or 16 x a month) = $4.18 each time.
Twice a week (or 8 times a month) = $8.37 each time.
Once a week (or 4 times a month) = $16.75 each time.
Bi-weekly (or twice a month) = $33.50 each time.
Once a month (Just one time!) = $67.00

I won't say which category I personally fall within...lol :) But I will say that birth control is not very cost-effective especially if you are not making great use of the benefits of it in your personal life! lol :)

In conclusion, I recently found out that Wal-Mart offers $4-$9 generic prescriptions......one of them is a birth control pill that only costs $9. That is $58 cheaper than what I currently pay! Is it really any different than the pill that costs so much? Probably not.....I guess birth control all pretty much serves the same general purpose, right? I, for one, am willing to give it a shot because I am thrilled about the price difference! Hopefully, I will only have great things to report back to you once I get started...and hopefully I won't be announcing a pregnancy or anything! lol
Life of Lele.lumz
Expressions*Confessions*Life~Lessons!
(The real-life expressions of a 20-something work-at-home mom of 2 who is getting ripped off by the pharmaceutical company! lol)


6 comments:

Eli said...

OMG--that is expensive! I used to get the Depo shot which was still pretty expensive. We ended up buying condoms from Planned Parenthood (4 for a dollar) until the dh went and got snipped! Probably TMI...sorry! :)

Kateedyd said...

Wow! I had no idea how much that stuff is. I have the fortune (depending on how you look at it) of not being able to get pregnant. That's why my kids are 11 years apart. When I was on bc it didn't work out with me well.

But...in Ca we have a program, that hardly anyone knows about, that covers any form of birth control or dr visits, as long as you're talking about bc. Took me years to figure this out.

Hope you can get the generic and it works out!

Lele.lumz! said...

LOL~ Never TMI for me! lol I only wish hubby would consider it...it would be a very cost effective method! :)

Lele.lumz! said...

That's it, Kateedyd....I'm moving to Cali! Isn't it ironic that they have programs out there like that....yet hardly anyone knows about it....I think they keep stuff hush on purpose sometimes! lol :)

Shannon*~ said...

I totally agree that Birth control pills cost too much! luckily, I have decided to go off them so i dont have to worry about the hormones affecting me now! lol Ps just wanted to let you know that I absolutly love your blog and added it to my favs list!

Lele.lumz! said...

Thanks Dracofly, for adding me to your blog list! I'm glad that you like it! I'm on my way to visit your blog now! lol
Thanks for stopping by! Take Care! :)