News Release

Yearlong birth control supply would cut unintended pregnancies, costs

Peer-Reviewed Publication

University of Pittsburgh

Infographic

image: What are the impacts of a yearlong supply of birth control pills? view more 

Credit: UPMC

PITTSBURGH, July 8, 2019 - New research from the University of Pittsburgh and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) shows that dispensing a year's supply of birth control pills up front would support women's reproductive autonomy while also being cost effective.

The paper, published today in JAMA Internal Medicine, used a mathematical model to demonstrate that reducing birth control refills would better allow female veterans to prevent undesired pregnancies, and the money saved on health care costs would more than outweigh the expense of providing birth control in larger quantities.

"Medication dispensing limits are thought to be cost-saving because you're not wasting pills and medicines that people aren't going to use," said lead author Colleen Judge-Golden, an M.D., Ph.D. student at Pitt's School of Medicine. "Our analysis shows that concerns about wastage of contraceptive pills are overshadowed by the potential consequences of missed refills, and especially of unintended pregnancies."

VA data shows that 43% of women receiving three-month increments of birth control pills experience at least one gap between refills over the course of a year of use. Outside the VA, women who get a year's worth of birth control pills up front experience fewer gaps, and ultimately, fewer unintended pregnancies.

Since the VA doesn't yet offer the option of dispensing a 12-month supply, Judge-Golden analyzed how expensive such a program would be, together with senior author Sonya Borrero, M.D., M.S., director of Pitt's Center for Women's Health Research and Innovation and associate director of the VA's Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion.

The researchers estimate that among the approximately 24,000 women receiving oral contraceptives from the VA, offering a year's supply of pills would prevent 583 unintended pregnancies and save the VA about $2 million a year in prenatal, birth and newborn care costs.

"We see extended contraceptive dispensing as a win-win," said Judge-Golden, "promoting women's health and women's autonomy to use birth control as they decide, while also being economically sustainable for the VA."

To date, 17 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws requiring insurers to cover a year's supply of contraceptives. As the largest integrated American health system, the VA has an opportunity to deploy this evidence-based policy on a national scale.

"This is a great opportunity for the VA to roll out this policy change on a national level and continue to be a leader and set an elevated standard for women's health care," Borrero said.

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This research was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (award number TL1TR001858).

Other authors on the study include Kenneth Smith, M.D., M.S., of Pitt's School of Medicine, and Maria Mor, Ph.D., of both Pitt's Graduate School of Public Health and the VA.

To read this release online or share it, visit http://www.upmc.com/media/news/070819-borerro-va-bc [when embargo lifts].

About the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences

The University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences include the schools of Medicine, Nursing, Dental Medicine, Pharmacy, Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and the Graduate School of Public Health. The schools serve as the academic partner to the UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center). Together, their combined mission is to train tomorrow's health care specialists and biomedical scientists, engage in groundbreaking research that will advance understanding of the causes and treatments of disease and participate in the delivery of outstanding patient care. Since 1998, Pitt and its affiliated university faculty have ranked among the top 10 educational institutions in grant support from the National Institutes of Health. For additional information about the Schools of the Health Sciences, please visit http://www.health.pitt.edu.

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