Lovelyish

I love the idea.

Woo! I’m excited about this

“Many women who get pregnant are blasted out of their minds when they have sex, and they’re not going to use birth control anyway,” Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly said.  
LMFAO.

@TakingxOverxMe@xanga - Bill O’Reilly is a massive idiot.

I LOVE THIS.

@TakingxOverxMe@xanga - I disagree with him. 

Yay!! I’ll save $120/year thanks to this

YES

If I decide to go back to birth control, this will be awesome.

Are IUDs included?

@raedium@xanga - I don’t know how any sane person can agree with that crazy, crazy man.

I’m waiting for the anti-abortion crowd to swoop in and be angry about this, even though this is probably the best way to prevent abortions in the first place.

@MangoWOW@xanga - my guess is yes, because it is birth control after all

I already get my pill covered but this is fantastic news for those who didn’t!

@MangoWOW@xanga - I really hope they are, I was wondering that too.  IUDs are SO expensive but I can’t handle pills/can’t really get them anyways since I’ll be living in Germany for a year and health stuff doesn’t all carry over.  Although if it’s not until 2012 I guess it doesn’t matter.   I want an IUD!

@ScarletMoth@xanga - as a vague note for the future, if you ever have the option of getting kaiser insurance via work, swoop on it! my IUD cost me a whopping $0, with $20 copay for the gynecologist appt. ( :

FINALLY.

I don’t have insurance, but thankfully I was approved through my local health department to get it for free. My county just slashed their funding by 100k though last week, not sure how long it will last for me.

This is bad idea. If this was such an important measure to take, why are they waiting a year to enact it? Get it done sooner. 

/clap

thank god for small moments of human decency!

@ScarletMoth@xanga - @sarah2013 - I really hope so. Not only am I not very good at taking pills every day (let alone at the same time) but the pills made me go crazy. I was having mental breakdowns and my patiece when from short to nonexistant. I’ve been off them for a little less than a month and I’m already seeing imporvment. I’ve been much happier lately.. though I have started sleeping a lot more. I think an IUD would be perfect for someone like me.

I still pay $20/month with insurance D:
But I get them for $10/month in campus.

Making it free to the uninsured would be an even grander idea. 

Living in archaic ND, no form of BC is covered even in my insanely expensive health insurance policy because it’s “non-essential”. This will be GREAT! I can’t wait and I hope my policy gets updated quickly!

@TequilaKisses@xanga - wow, that’s awesome!! I go to a Jesuit university, and I don’t even think our clinic hands out free condoms..

OMG thank goodness!!! I have killer cramps and killer PMS, and birth control pills are the only thing that prevents those cramps.. but I can’t afford them anymore (my insurance doesn’t cover it) so I suffer every month… That’s fantastic, only a little over a year more of suffering! Whoo-hoo!

That’s swell and all, if you’re lucky enough to have insurance.  What about everybody else?

@MangoWOW@xanga - Doubt it.  The cheapest ones are $500, plus a doctor’s fee to have it inserted.  Plus, most doctors won’t give a woman an IUD unless she’s already had children because there’s a greater chance of it becoming dislodged or falling out altogether.  It’ll most likely apply only for pills, and possibly patches and the Nuva Ring.

It better apply to Nuva Ring! Damn $27 a month

How exciting. It’s not too expensive for me, but luckily, my mom offers to pay for anything if I go on the pill. I’m still on her insurance and she has a Flexible Spending card. So if I ever decide to go on the pill (probably, but I’m really really wary of it), then everything’s covered for me anyway.

they already overcharge for insurance and I barely get sick, maybe once every few years, so it still doesn’t seem “free.”

So… who’s paying for it?  The government?  The BC costs something to someone.  And if you can’t afford insurance, what about then?  I have Access and my pills are free, but it’s not like that for everybody.

@TakingxOverxMe@xanga - Blasted out of their minds?  What, high or drunk?  Bill O’Reilly should be exiled from America.

this is awesome!  i actually get mine from planned parenthood and it’s free, don’t know if it works like that everywhere, but here in oregon they’re really awesome about it.  i always make donations when i go in though.

@the_rocking_of_socks@xanga - have you tried planned parenthood? just tell them you don’t have insurance and they make you fill out a form declaring what your monthly income is and they’ll give it to you free unless you make a lot of money, i assume…although maybe different states are organized differently.  if you haven’t already talked to them you should, i love them, i get all my bc and checkups free and i have that crappy student insurance that universities give you that don’t cover these sort of things, but even before when i didn’t have any insurance they still gave it to me free.

YES! Not having to pay for the morning after pill is great. I don’t think my birth control is expensive as is, but the morning after pill is about $50. For one dose. Obviously it’s not something to use on a regular basis, but if there’s an “accident” it would be fantastic to not have to drop $50 to ensure I don’t get pregnant.

@flickered@xanga - Isn’t it already? I know it is at most health clinics I go to, just say you don’t have any insurance. I think the big problem for many women is they have insurance (therefore can’t get it free from the clinics) but the insurance doesn’t cover much of the cost. Basically, it’s an issue of being under issued, which is apparently a much bigger problem than being uninsured not just with birth control but with a lot of things. 

@Digital_Angel21@xanga - Your income has to be very, very low. Shamefully low. As in, “I can’t pay any sort of rent or feed myself” low. I’ve been denied by multiple clinics, whilst being unable to pay rent. I only pay $10/month, but it used to be $30. Free birth control is for the very few fortunate enough to be in a very unfortunate situation.

awesome, ill be saving $80/yr !

I already get mine for free, its covered by my insurance. I do love this idea, though.
Too bad I lose my insurance once I’m 26.

@ohforrealson@xanga - you’re paying for it by paying for insurance.  that’s why there’s a slight concern that insurance premiums may go up because of it.   there are lots of things that are free when you have insurance, but technically none of it’s free because you pay to have insurance

So excited!   My bc pills are 150 a year!   May not seem like a lot but I’m a student, so I’m broke

@flickered@xanga - That sucks. I know this girl whose family is actually well off but her dad is self employed and they don’t have health insurance, so she gets her birth control free. Either things are a lot more lax where I live or she is pulling some scam.

@jenessa1889@xanga - Oh I see, thank you very much for clearing that up!

@the_rocking_of_socks@xanga - Apparently it applies to anything FDA approved? I don’t know if that works in my benefit for an IUD or not though. lol

@rabbitsarecool14@xanga - We don’t have a Planned Parenthood where I live.  

this is awesome, but will my mother still find out? o.O

That is awesommmmmme!!!!

@flickered@xanga - Agreed.

@the_rocking_of_socks@xanga - That’s what I was thinking.
Those of us who don’t have insurance still have to pay for birth control… that makes total sense. smh 

birth control is free, but medications many people need to stay alive still require a co-pay.  Outrageous. 

@sarah2013 - Its sad that a lot of colleges dont! I go to a semi-public university in Pittsburgh.. my freshman year we’d have like “sessions” or something in the lounges and theyd have presentations and give out free condoms and everything. Best way to prevent aboritons, which most conservatives are opposed to.

@the_rocking_of_socks@xanga - Thats a shame that theres no planned parenthood to help you out, or those that live by you. You should tell your representatives to do something about it!

@TinkerTrae@xanga - if Obama’s nation health care bill goes into effect and republicans stop jipping us all, EVERYONE will have insurance — thus, EVERYONE’S birth control will be covered — this is just one step in the healthcare bill that Obama and the Democrats have crafted. Tell your representative that you want national health care and your birth control will be free.

Doesn’t affect me. Never have and never will use birth control… 

Why does it take a year to go into effect? Hopefully I’ll have insurance by then.

What about people without insurance?

This is awesome.

that’s a HUGE step!!!! WAY TO GO GOVERNMENT!!!! YAY!!!!

@loveable_lush@xanga - Considering that I live in the Bible Belt, I don’t see that happening anytime soon.    Our pregnancy center isn’t even permitted to give birth control.  All they can do is give you a free pregnancy screening, and then you have to watch a bunch of Christian videos and participate in their workshops so you can get a few things from their donation bins.  It’d just be easier to move to Canada.

@the_rocking_of_socks@xanga - That’s so pathetic! How do people think that that’s making progress? What is so wrong with educating from all sides? Sure, I would be willing to hear about abstienece and Christian/etc views, but then doesn’t that mean I can teach you about the physical/anatomical aspects of having sex/getting pregnant? Hah. Ridic. I just say move further north, so far PA still has Planned Parenthood… though that could surely change…

I was in the dentist office this morning when they were debating this issue.

One side is “It protects woman”
Other side says “It lets women do as they wish sexually”

Since WHEN does someone paying for birth control condone sexual behavior, I mean honestly. People can do what they want regardless of the cost….

YAY. Glad they’re making up for all of the bullshit cuts for Planned Parenthood.

Oh it’s not a “time will tell”, premiums WILL go up.  All you’re doing is shifting the cost from paying it when you pick up the pills to paying it on your insurance bill (or for a large number of girls, pushing it onto mommy and daddy’s insurance bill).  Hell, it’ll probably cost your more because the insurance company will likely add on extra for the extra paperwork and processing work involved……so odds are, this will actually cost you more money than if we continued under the current system.

But hey, GO DHS for creating more laws while circumventing the legal process for creating laws!  What’s that?  Constitution?  We don’t need that crap!

…… So.. Only for people with insurance?… Where if you buy birth control is way cheaper anyways.. Hmm.. Doesnt sound too great to me… And no, I am not one of those lazy people who arent on health insurance.. I can to the states from Canada (universal healthcare.. I miss it) I am only 21 years old, I cant get health insurance from my step dad and my mom isnt working.. I am working, but have absolutly no benefits at my job..

They need to do something for people with NO health insurance!

@Wendy -  I was on birth control since I was 14.. I wasnt even having sex… People need to realize birth control does alot of things that are good, other than not getting pregnant…. If I had a daughter, shes going on birth control early so she doesnt get pregnant…. Kids will have sex, and sadly alot of times they arent on birth control… so…

I have to point out: It’s not “free” because nothing is free; someone’s going to be paying for it. You can bet costs will go up somewhere else to cover it.

This is also not something the government should have ever in a million years had the power to regulate. Insurance companies are private businesses and should, under the US Constitution, be able to make their own business decisions. This just means premiums will go up while the cost for this particular med goes down.

I was super excited when a co-worker told me about this! It’s ridiculous that women have to pay for birth control. I hope this covers IUDs too because I was seriously considering getting one, but my insurance currently doesn’t cover them. 

@Pickwick12@xanga - look at it from a different perspective. more women on birth control = fewer abortions. for all i know, you could be pro-choice, but based on our previous interactions, i venture to suspect you’re not. religiously, which is more important to you, slightly higher premiums, or fewer aborted fetuses? money or life? if life is sacred and money is not, seems like a very small price to pay.

“Supporters also say covering contraception helps the government save money up front. According to an analysis from the Guttmacher Institute, in 2006, of the 2 million publicly funded births, 51% resulted from unintended pregnancies, accounting for more than $11 billion in costs.” (source)

if birth control is accessible to more women, not only will there be fewer abortions, less tax money will be spent paying for accidental pregnancies. seems like both the left and the right get something they want here. 

@TheBillion@xanga - I am happy for women to have birth control! That is not a question! I still believe, though, that it’s not something the government has a right to force private businesses to provide, and I it’s a certainty that someone will be paying for it.

@Pickwick12@xanga - is the cost not worth the benefit?

@TheBillion@xanga - I don’t believe that’s for the government to decide. They’re forcibly making that decision for people, which is redistribution of wealth–socialism.

@Pickwick12@xanga - that doesn’t answer the question i’m asking, unless you’re saying there’s a point at which the cost of protecting a life (such as at the hand of government regulation) is too great. which is more important to (conservative?) christians, lack of government regulation or the sacredness of life? because it seems to me that if unborn life is inestimably valuable and sacred, as christians assert, giving up a little bit of freedom (and for nothing but the span of their earthly lives!) is an insignificantly small price to pay. 

does this mean there’s going to be an increase of girls who are DTF on campus? 

@TheBillion@xanga - I simply don’t believe things like this work at a federal government level or that they’re the government’s job, so I don’t believe it’s a question of protecting life vs. giving up freedom. A great way for the federal government to help would be to be about 10% of its current size and give rights back to the states and individual businesses (not that I’m naive enough to envision that happening) In that case, individuals could protect life while enjoying their freedom.

I can see we’re coming from different places here, so I’ll agree to disagree and leave it at this point. Thanks for asking thought-provoking questions. While I disagree with the government’s right to enact this, I do hope that it will help individuals.

I had to laugh… I plan on getting OFF birth control in 2013 (after we will be married for a year and we are financially ready for a baby). Hopefully this will encourage more women to get on the pill who also can not afford to have babies. 

@sarah2013 - that sucks ass! every university should hand them out, because people are going to have sex anyway. can you petition for it, or something?

As for the news, HOORAY!! And if you don’t have insurance, to me, that’s like walking on a tightrope while drunk and hoping not to fall. 

if morning-after pills are gonna be free, it makes me curious as to how many people aren’t gonna go on BC, and just rely on Plan B.

Thats all well and good… except that you will be paying for it in the premiums instead!! I would rather pay for the birth control itself!!!

I think this is wonderful but will this raise the price of our insurance? For me it doesn’t really matter since I’m having the essure procedure done next month anyway

They need to include a blood test before they prescribe birth-control, many girls have clotting disorders. Some aren’t serious, but over time clots build up and can travel to the lungs or brain. I had a stroke when I was 19 and that kinda sucked, sooo they should definately have a blood screening or something to prevent teenage strokes.

This is fantastic…I pay $35 a month for my pills.  And I’m one of the women who need it for more than just birth control.

Hooray!

Nothing is free in life…  The cost for this will raise insurance premiums or taxes or possibly even both.  Either way, it’s getting paid for by someone.  That’s why when people are like “Yay free!” I just facepalm.  When the health insurance bill was passed the other year and people were like “Yay free insurance through the government!” I facepalmed again because many companies dropped health insurance coverage altogether because they could no longer afford to cover their employees.  My family has been uninsured for multiple years now because of this.

Things aren’t free.  They’re always being paid for by someone.  And most likely you as well in some form of taxes or another.

How can something come from nothing? How can something that is designed by highly paid researchers and produced my factories that pay people wages, be free?

There is no more expensive an item then the one government says is free.

The entire Western World is going bankrupt because the governments gives away things for “free”.

WAKE UP PEEPLES! 

I’m glad the priorities are straight.  Free pills so you can have premiscuous sex… but your insulin?  You better shell out the dough!  That’s the “progress” of liberalism, folks…

I really, really think that insurance companies and businesses should be allowed to put together their own plans. That era is rapidly coming to an end…
Just remember folks… the same government that fucks up your driver’s license… they are now in charge of your health. Awesome!

isnt it the people who really need free birth control the ones who dont have insurance and cant afford it. Im a newly wed in college and was alittle embarrassed when i had to go to planned parenthood to get birth control because i couldnt afford to go anywhere else

@GodlessLiberal@xanga - Financing sexual promiscuity cannot prevent abortions. After all the sex education and government financing of depravity, abortions continue unabated.

Morality is the answer to abortion, not condoms.

@lisajenelle@xanga - Why should others have to pay for your sex life?

It’s so unfair to use other people’s money so you can screw to your heart’s content. I don’t care whether you’re married or not.

I shouldn’t be charged for what you do in bed.

It’s like you folks turn yourselves into prostitutes while the rest of us have to pay for it without getting any.

@grim_truth@xanga - Remember birth control have more than one function. And that regardless, people will have unprotected sex no matter what. No amount of free birth control will change that. 

@LoBornlytesThoughtPalace@xanga - If only it was just that. I know a lot of friends of mine(including a cousin) that use birth control to regulate their hormones due to disorders like endometriosis, POCD, PMDD, so it’s just not about what goes in the bed room. You’d be surprised by the many women that have this, or just have bad periods that actually interfere in their lives and that midol or anything can’t help. Birth control has so many functions that it’s useful, like many of the different medication that can be used for dual purposes. Though I know some women will abuse it but not all, I’m sure. 

@Hinase@xanga - So everyone else should pay for other’s behavior?  The mandate does not specify that the “free” pills are for those who take it for other medical reasons.  It’s for ALL birth control pills.    Again, it’s not free.  Someone WILL pay for it.  Why in today’s society does everyone want to force everyone else to pay for what they WANT.

According to several sources approximately 100 million women worldwide are on the pill.  1/3 who use birth control use the pill in the US.  (approximately 70% of all women use some sort of contraceptive or birth control method)

Interestingly enough, I could not find ANY stats on women who take the pill solely for medical reasons. 

@grim_truth@xanga - Of course I do know that. Nothing in life is ever free and I know that someone does pay for it. I’m not against or for it. I’m kind of in the middle.

I don’t know. I know a lot women personally that take it for medical reasons and I know I did when I was on the pill. I’m sure there has to be some sort of stats on women taking it for medical reasons it would be weird if it was really none. 

But oh well I guess. 

@Hinase@xanga - Oh, I’m sure there’s at least some who take is solely for medical reasons.  I just don’t think it’s very many, at least in comparison to those who take it for it’s use as a contraceptive.  I’m not against the pill.  I’m against other having to pay for someone else’s lifestyle and not having a say in it.  I find it funny that many (not saying you) who are for these kinds of programs get all up in arms over rich CEOs’ extravagant lifestyles.  We have the freedom and choice to not buy their company’s product.  I don’t have the choice to not pay for these women’s pills in an indirect manner.

@grim_truth@xanga - I understand that, that’s why I’m just in the middle of this. There are too many facets to consider. 

Compare the amount the goverment would pay for birth control, to the money the goverment pays out to those who can’t afford their children (WIC, food stamps, Medicade, ect) – the goverment will be SAVING money. People are so consumed with the morality ‘issue’ that they don’t see how it saves money in the long run.

I think it’s really nice that all of those things will be free soon. I think it’s kind of weird that birth control is categorized as a preventative “medicine”, since pregnancy is not a disease, but it’s nice that it will be available for free. 

@UnrevealedTruth_xo@xanga - I see… so we just have to chose what amount we’re comfortable with spending to support others’ lifestyles?  Why is everything now down to chosing the lesser of two evils?

@Hinase@xanga - Yeah, I would be much more accepting of it if it were for those who NEED it for medical reasons.  I would fully accept it if it were the companies chosing to do it on their own and it not be mandated.  Insurance is expensive enough. Premiums will go up for a prescription, that in many cases, is not needed. 

I wonder, for all those who support this, what if a gov’t mandate came out and demanded that Viagra and Cialis were to be free?

@grim_truth@xanga - Yeah, I think there should be a option but not a mandate. I understand what the government is trying to do but…it might end up biting everyone in the ass later on. 

It’s not true.. I mean, I have insurance and I still had to pay a $10 copay. She said it only applied to “some insurance providers”.