During her annual OB-GYN visit, Callie Anderson asked about getting off the birth control pill.
"We decided the best option for me was an IUD," she said, referring to an intrauterine device, a long-acting, reversible type of birth control.
Anderson, 25, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, asked her doctor how much it might cost. At the time, she was working in a U.S. senator's local office and was covered under her father's insurance through a plan offered to retired state police.
"She told me that IUDs are almost universally covered under insurance but she would send out the prior authorization anyway," Anderson said.
She said she heard nothing more and assumed that meant it was covered.
After waiting months for an appointment, Anderson had the insertion procedure last March. She paid $25, her copay for an office visit, and everything went well.
"I was probably in the room itself for less than 10 minutes, including taking clothes on and off," she said.
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The Medical Procedure
According to Planned Parenthood, IUDs and implantable birth control represented nearly 25% of its contraceptive services provided from October 2021 to September 2022, per the latest data available.
There are two types of IUDs: copper, which Planned Parenthood says can protect against pregnancy for up to 12 years, and hormonal, which can last from three to eight years depending on the brand. Hormonal IUDs can prevent ovulation, and both types affect the movement of sperm, designed to stop them from reaching an egg.
A physician or other practitioner uses a tube to insert the IUD, passing it through the cervix and releasing it into the uterus.
Doctors often recommend over-the-counter drugs for i ...