These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Medical care cost savings from adolescent contraceptive use.
    Author: Trussell J, Koenig J, Stewart F, Darroch JE.
    Journal: Fam Plann Perspect; 1997; 29(6):248-55, 295. PubMed ID: 9429869.
    Abstract:
    An analysis of the economic benefits of adolescent contraceptive use utilizes information from a national private payer database and from the California Medicaid program to compare private- and public-sector costs and savings. The study estimates the costs of acquiring and using 11 contraceptive methods appropriate for adolescents, treating associated side effects, providing medical care related to an unintended pregnancy during method use and treating sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and compares them with the costs of using no method. The average annual cost per adolescent at risk of unintended pregnancy who uses no method is $1,267 ($1,079 for unintended pregnancy and $188 for STDs) in the private sector and $677 ($541 for unintended pregnancy and $137 for STDs) in the public sector under the most conservative assumptions. At one year of use, private-sector savings from adolescent contraceptive use range from $308 for the implant to $946 for the male condom; public-sector savings rise from $60 for the implant to $525 for the male condom. Both the use of male condoms with another method and the advance provision of backup emergency contraceptive pills provide additional savings. Six previous studies have demonstrated that contraceptive use saves substantial health care dollars in both private and public settings in the US. The present study was the first to focus on the costs and savings of contraceptive use among US adolescent women 15-19 years of age. Through use of data from a national third-party private payer database and from the California Medicaid program, the costs of acquiring and using 11 contraceptive methods appropriate for adolescents, treating associated side effects, providing medical care related to an unintended pregnancy during method use, and treating sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) were calculated and compared with the costs of using no method. Under the most conservative of the three scenarios considered (which included the cost of STDs and lowered the cost of unintended birth to reflect the reported proportions of unwanted and mistimed births), the average annual cost per adolescent at risk of unintended pregnancy who used no method was US$1267 (including $188 for STDs) in the private sector and $677 ($137 for STDs) in the public sector. At 1 year of use, cost savings from adolescent contraceptive use were lowest for the implant ($60 in the public sector and $308 in the private sector) and highest for the male condom ($525 and $946, respectively). Additional savings were conferred both by the use of male condoms with another method and the advance provision of backup emergency contraceptive pills. Policies that reduce the occurrence of adolescent pregnancy and STDs are important for their social and reproductive health benefits. These findings indicate that--in addition--the provision of health insurance coverage for contraception, without substantial out-of-pocket expenditures or deductibles, is highly cost-effective.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]