| Popis: |
This study examines, on a per-case basis, the social costs associated with contraceptive failures and resulting term pregnancies. To combat unintended pregnancy and escalating health care costs, the public sector needs to provide greater access to highly effective methods of contraception.This study measures the social costs resulting when specific contraceptives fail women who are eligible for federal entitlement programs and pregnancy is carried to term. Social costs were calculated for selected contraceptive methods (the copper-T IUD, the diaphragm, contraceptive implants, injectables, the male condom, oral contraceptives, and tubal ligation), which were then compared with each other and with nonuse. The three-part analysis begins with the design of an economic model to measure the social costs of a single unplanned pregnancy brought to term (state and federal government payments) per person over a five-year term. Next these data were combined with data on specific contraceptive failure rates, and, finally, the data on social cost per method were combined with data from a previous study of direct health care costs to evaluate the total costs associated with the various methods. This analysis revealed that highly effective contraceptive methods are highly cost-effective, and that the initial expenditure to provide these methods to low-income women is overwhelmingly offset by savings in medical and social programs. This finding raises the question of why those qualifying for entitlement programs have so many unintended pregnancies, and it is suggested that the answer can be found in the fact that the fiscal resources that pay for (or fail to pay for) effective contraception are different from those bearing the social and medical costs once an unplanned baby is born. It is concluded that all women should be assured of access to highly effective contraceptive methods. |
