Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Prescription Contraceptive Use and Costs Among Privately Insured Women, 2006–2020

Abstract

Background

In the years immediately following the Affordable Care Act (ACA)'s contraceptive coverage requirement, out-of-pocket costs fell for all Food and Drug Administration–approved contraceptive methods and use of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) increased. This analysis examines whether these trends have continued through 2020 for privately insured women.

Methods

Using 2006–2020 MarketScan data, we examined trends in prescription contraceptive use and out-of-pocket costs among women 13 to 49 years old. Multivariable analyses model the likelihood of contraceptive use and paying $0 post-ACA requirement (vs. pre-ACA requirement) for contraception, controlling for age group, U.S. region, urban versus rural, and cohort year.

Results

The likelihood of LARC insertion increased post-ACA requirement (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.127, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.121–1.133), with insertion rates peaking at 3.73% for intrauterine devices (IUDs) and 1.08% for implants in 2019, before declining with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Although the likelihood of paying $0 for LARC increased after the ACA requirement (IUD: aOR 5.495, 95% CI 5.278–5.716; implant: aOR 7.199, 95% CI 6.992–7.412), the proportion of individuals paying $0 declined to 69% for IUDs and 73% for implants in 2020, after having peaked at 88% in 2014 and 90% in 2016, respectively. For oral contraceptives, both use (aOR 1.028, 95% CI 1.026–1.030) and paying $0 (aOR 20.399, 95% CI 20.301–20.499) increased significantly after the ACA requirement.

Conclusion

With the exception of oral contraceptives, the proportion of individuals paying $0 for all contraceptive methods declined after peaking in 2014 for IUDs, 2016 for the implant, and 2019 for non-LARC methods. Future monitoring is needed to understand the continuing impact of the ACA requirement on prescription contraceptive use and costs.