[ad_1]
A new study from the University of Pittsburgh and the US Department of Veterans (VA) shows that offering one year of contraceptive pills throughout the year would contribute to women's reproductive independence while being cost-effective.
The paper, published today in JAMA Internal Medicine, used a mathematical model to demonstrate that reducing contraceptive renewals would allow female veterans to prevent unwanted pregnancies and that savings in health care costs would offset largely the costs of providing birth control. larger quantities.
"It is thought that the limits of drug use will reduce costs because you are not wasting the drugs and medications that people are not going to use," said lead author, Colleen Judge-Golden, holds a master's degree and a doctorate. student at the Pitt School of Medicine. "Our badysis shows that concerns about the waste of contraceptive pills are overshadowed by the potential consequences of missed renewals, and in particular unwanted pregnancies."
The data on the AV show that 43% of women receiving contraceptive pills in three month increments have at least one interval between renewals during a year of use. Outside of the AV, women who receive a contraceptive pill for a year have fewer gaps and, ultimately, fewer unwanted pregnancies.
Since the VA did not yet offer the option of providing a 12-month supply, Judge-Golden badyzed the cost of such a program, in collaboration with lead author Sonya Borrero, MD, MS, director of the Pitt women's health research. Innovation and Associate Director of the Center for Research and Promotion of Health Equity of the AV.
The researchers estimate that among the approximately 24,000 women receiving oral contraceptives from the AV, offering a stock of pills for a year would prevent 583 unwanted pregnancies and save about $ 2 million a year in care prenatal, birth and newborn.
"We consider the widespread distribution of contraceptives to be a win-win situation," Judge-Golden said, "by encouraging women's health and their autonomy to use birth control according to their decision, while remaining economically viable for women. # 39; AV ".
To date, 17 states and the District of Columbia have pbaded legislation requiring insurers to cover their contraceptive needs for one year. As the largest integrated health system in the United States, the VA has the opportunity to deploy this evidence-based policy at the national level.
"This is a great opportunity for the VA to implement this policy change at the national level and continue to be a leader and set a high standard for health care for women," said Borrero .
This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: Content may have changed for length and content. For more information, please contact the cited source.
[ad_2]
Source link
