Get Free Birth Control

When you use birth control, you empower yourself by taking responsibility for your body and your life. Your ability to prevent an unwanted pregnancy does not have to be limited by how much money you earn. You can get free birth control if you ask the right questions and know where to go. It does not matter if you are insured, uninsured, have Medicaid, or if you are a teen who prefers for your parents not to know.

Steps

Using All Available Resources

1. Use condoms as your form of birth control. You do not need a prescription from a doctor. Condoms can be obtained easily and for free at clinics like Planned Parenthood.
   • Clinics like Planned Parenthood are sensitive to the need for confidentiality, especially if you are a teen who does not want your parents know that you are thinking about using birth control.
   • Condoms are an effective form of birth control and prevent pregnancy 98% of the time if they are used correctly every time. However, they are rarely used perfectly and 21% of women experience a pregnancy in the first year of use. Condoms are highly effective in preventing the sexual transmission of HIV and many other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) like herpes or chlamydia when they are used consistently and correctly. This type of birth control does require a responsible partner who is willing to help you prevent an unplanned pregnancy.
   • Websites like http://www.condomfinder.org/find.php can help you find places near you, anywhere in the US, that give out free condoms. Some websites list sites only in a certain area or are for teens only.
2. Call your local health department. The services offered by the clinic associated with your local health department will depend upon where you live. It is a good place to find out about your options for getting free birth control.
   • Some of the clinics will offer you birth control at a reduced price. Other clinics will help you apply for programs that allow you to get free health care like family planning and birth control. Once you are accepted into a program, you can get your free birth control at the clinic. The healthcare workers at the clinic will tell you what methods are available free.
3. Go to a local clinic. The staff that works at a sexual health clinic like Planned Parenthood, your local free clinic, or a clinic for adolescent health can help you get the birth control for free.
   • You could have access to a wide variety of birth control methods such the pill, the patch, an intrauterine device (IUD), or a diaphragm. It depends upon clinic you go to and the state in which you live. You can call your local health department to see
   • There are many programs out there that will help you get birth control for free, but you must sign up to take advantage of the benefits. Adults will have to see what the income requirements are and most minors under the age of 18 will qualify. The staff at your clinic is there to help you through the process.
   • In most states, adolescents are able to consent for themselves for contraception, and do not need a parental consent.
   • If you are a college or university student, visit your health center. These centers often offer free condoms and sometimes they even offer free birth control pills.
4. Apply for The Family Planning Benefit Plan. After the Affordable Care Act (ACA) went into effect in 2010, some states gained access to funds that would allow them to provide certain individuals with free family planning services and supplies. This plan provides birth control for both women and men.
   • This is a good option if you are uninsured, have a limited income, or have Medicaid. There is no age limit to apply. Each state is different in terms of what services the plan offers. In general, this option does give you access to a variety of birth control methods like an intrauterine device (IUD), a diaphragm, or getting your tubes tied. But, it seems like over-the-counter methods like spermicides and the sponge are covered less often.
   • Unlike private insurance, your partner can be covered to undergo a vasectomy. This is a surgical procedure which involves having his vas deferens cut and tied off to prevent sperm from being released during sexual intercourse.
5. Try to get free samples. Drug companies like to give healthcare professionals free drug samples to help promote their products. Your healthcare professional may give you some free samples if you tell her you are having trouble paying for birth control.
   • It cannot hurt to ask for help wherever you receive medical care. You can talk to your doctor in the office or at the clinic. If you have a health center at your school, university, or college, talk to someone there. Your school counsellor may not have access to birth control, but her advice may direct you to the right place to get free birth control.
   • You will not be able to get an unlimited amount of free samples. Pursue other ways of getting free birth control.
6. Fill out an application at the Health Insurance Marketplace. Because this government website is associated with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), you will be able to find an insurer which will provide you with one type of free birth control from each of the 18 Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approved categories.
   • The website can help you find an affordable plan that meets your medical and financial needs. Even if you cannot find a plan, you may qualify for Medicaid. Under ACA, many states expanded their Medicaid services, including providing free birth control. Specifically, some states allow you to get the free birth control from Planned Parenthood even it is not an “officially approved” provider for Medicaid.
   • If you can get private insurance, your options for free birth control are increased. The 18 FDA-approved categories offer you a wide range of birth control methods. This includes being able to use a barrier method, like a diaphragm or a sponge, during sexual intercourse. You could use a hormonal method like birth control pills or a vaginal ring. The use of an implanted device like an intrauterine device (IUD) is another one of your options. You even have access to emergency contraception, like Plan B® and ella®, to stop you from ovulating after unprotected sexual intercourse. If you want a permanent form of birth control, you can choose to undergo a sterilization procedure like having your tubes tied. The best part is that you are offered patient education and counseling to help you figure out which method of birth control is best for you.
   • One difficulty is that this application must be filled out during a specific period of time each year (the annual open enrollment period) unless you qualify for a special enrollment period. This period is the 60 days following certain life events that involve a change in family status (marriage or the birth of a child) or the loss of other health coverage.

Working with Your Private Insurer

1. Check your plan to see what all your free options are. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), most insurance companies must provide a woman with one type of free birth control from each of the 18 Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approved categories.
   • When you call member services, the representative you are talking to may not know all of your options. Do not stop until you have a list of all your free options.
   • The 18 FDA-approved categories offer you a wide range of birth control methods. This includes being able to use a barrier method, like a diaphragm or a sponge, during sexual intercourse. You could use a hormonal method like birth control pills or a vaginal ring. The use of an implanted device like an intrauterine device (IUD) is another one of your options. You even have access to emergency contraception, like Plan B® and ella®, to stop you from ovulating after unprotected sexual intercourse. If you want a permanent form of birth control, you can choose to undergo a sterilization procedure like having your tubes tied. The best part is that you are offered patient education and counseling to help you figure out which method of birth control is best for you.
2. Use your parents' health insurance. Even if you are younger than 18, the rules and regulations under ACA apply to you. But, it will be hard to prevent your parents from becoming part of the conversation if you use their insurance.
   • You have a right to free birth control because of ACA. You can go to a doctor, talk to her about the different birth control methods, and get a prescription. She cannot discuss any of this with your parents. Your parents could find out because the insurance company must provide your parents with documentation of how their benefits are being used. Consider visiting a free clinic if you want complete confidentiality. Remember it is a good thing to involve a responsible adult in this important decision process.
3. Consider changing your birth control. You may be able to get free birth control if you change to the generic form of your present birth control. After talking to your doctor, you may find that free birth control in a different FDA category actually would suit you better.
   • Your doctor can help you make this important decision and the counselling is free because of ACA. You may try the generic form and see that it works just as well as your favorite brand-name birth control pill. If you do not like the free generic birth control pill, you may find that you actually like the equally effective and more convenient implanted device. Your insurer decides which birth control it will offer free in each category, but you can choose to fully explore your options.
4. Make your doctor your advocate. You may have a bad reaction if you do not use a specific brand-name birth control. Your doctor can make an official appeal to your insurer to have this brand provided to you free of cost.
   • The Department of Labor makes it clear that you can be charged a copay for a brand-name drug or device when an equivalent generic is available. If a generic version is not available or your doctor determines that the generic form would not be medically appropriate for you, your plan or issuer must provide you with the brand-name drug or device without charge to you.
   • In this situation, you cannot be forced to use a free birth-control method from another FDA-approved category.
5. Look for changes in approved in-network providers. Your insurance company can charge a copay if you do not use an approved pharmacy to fill your prescription or an approved healthcare provider to perform a birth control procedure like inserting an IUD. Your insurer may not fulfill its responsibility to inform you of the changes in a timely fashion.
   • For example, your insurer can start charging a copay on a previously free form of birth control if it now wants you purchase it from a home-delivery pharmacy instead of your local pharmacy like you had in the past.
6. Get a prescription for your over-the-counter birth control. Insurance carriers require that you have a prescription for whatever type of birth control you are using. This includes over-the-counter birth control like spermicides (kills sperm), sponges, and emergency contraception like Plan B.
   • This requirement is actually helpful to you. Patient education and counseling for birth control is covered by your plan free of cost. You can ask your healthcare provider questions about other forms of birth control available to you. You can chose to stick with the over-the-counter form of birth control or change to another type which suits your needs better.
7. Change your insurance carrier if it no longer works for you. You have a right to free birth control because of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). However, some plans do not have to provide you with free birth control and others may not have to provide this coverage until a few years from now.
   • You must decide if the money you will save by using free birth control is worth the cost and effort of having to buy your own insurance.
   • Under ACA, some insurance plans are grandfathered if the plan was purchased before March 23, 2010. They do not have to follow ACA rules and regulations or offer the same benefits. So, your plan could offer some types or no types of birth control for free. At some point, these plans will have to provide you with one free method of birth control in each of the 18 FDA-approved categories, but you may not be willing or able to wait.
   • If your employer is a house of worship, your plan is not required to cover free birth control. You will have to pay for your birth control. For all other religious employers, you are provided free birth control coverage through a third party. The information on this third party carrier must be made available to you.

Tips

• When you go to the clinic to apply for a program like The Family Planning Benefits Plan you may need an insurance card, a valid ID, pay stubs, a birth certificate, and your social security number.
• Many stores, such as Target and Walmart, offer at least one or two brands of oral contraceptives at an extremely reduced price.

Related Articles

• Start Birth Control
• Prevent Spotting on Birth Control
• Use Birth Control Pills
• Remember to Take Your Birth Control Pills
• Get Birth Control Without Parents Knowing

Sources and Citations

See also

• Buy the Morning After Pill
• Use a Condom
• Prevent Pregnancy
• Avoid Pregnancy Naturally
• Hide a Condom
• Put On a Condom with Foreskin
• Prevent Spotting on Birth Control
• Dispose of a Condom
• Use a Female Condom
• Prevent Pregnancy if a Condom Breaks

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• Choose a Birth Control Method
• Remember to Take Your Birth Control Pills
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