The Cost of Contraception

Ave Sodalis

So I was at the doctor just there, getting my routine injection. I didn't have my medical card because it's not my GP (who I'd usually use) as I'm in college. What left me dumbfounded (other than the fact the doctor was a prick but that's another story) was the price! €40 for literally 3 minutes of stabbing a needle into my rear end. In fact, would have been half a minute if he didn't spend so long sneering at me and that was with a student discount. So I had a look at the price list on the way out. It's usually fifty euro and that's not the most expensive thing. The implant is €140 to get in and €100 to get out. A Cervical Check is €100! That's ridiculous prices! Is this the same across all doctors or is this one just taking the mick? How can women afford routine contraception at such prices? I use a medical card and I'm very grateful for it at the best of times but now I'm very thankful for it...

Morag

Those are the regular prices.

GalwayGirl26

Last time I went to the doctor it was 50eur for a 6 month prescription of an inhaler I have been in for nearly 20 years. I didn't even sit down in the office.
I get the pill through Lloyds online doctor (25eur for repeat prescription). I just wouldn't give it to a GP here.

lilmissprincess

I've found the implant, while expensive as an outlay, quite cheap as it lasts for the five years - and you can claim back 20% of it in tax. Not to say that I wouldn't appreciate it being a bit cheaper but the price of peace of mind and not having to buy more formula/nappies = definitely a lot more.

Now, the morning after pill price is the one I have a problem with. In particular, the one you have to get from a GP (if you're over a certain weight) - its twice the price, and thats on top of the GP fee - absolute robbery.

Sauve

OP your new GP should accept your medical card as a 'visitor' to the area, as long as they're a practice who deals with medical cards in the first place.
Could be worth looking into, it'd save you a fortune.

Addle

I have to pay €60 for a visit with a GP, and for any prescription on top of that.

It probably seems like a lot to you if you're not used to paying at all with having a medical card.

kylith

My medical card is up and the chemist sympathised with me about how expensive my pill is going to be from now on. Instead of free consultations it'll be E60 consults and feck knows how much for the pill itself.

Morag

You'd think they'd make contraception and visits related to contraception free for everyone.

rainbow kirby

When I lived in Dublin, it was €55 once a year plus €10 to get the repeat prescription, plus €52 every six months for my pill (was on Yasminelle at the time).

Over here? All contraceptives are free, and all I have to do to get my repeat prescription is ring the surgery because they have an e-prescriptions system with the local pharmacies. I love the NHS.

pampootie

lilmissprincess wrote: »

Now, the morning after pill price is the one I have a problem with. In particular, the one you have to get from a GP (if you're over a certain weight) - its twice the price, and thats on top of the GP fee - absolute robbery.

Just to mention, the studies were looked at again and the weight restrictions were lifted a couple of months ago so it no longer applies to the MAP available in pharmacies.

kylith

Morag wrote: »

You'd think they'd make contraception and visits related to contraception free for everyone.

But then people would be having the Sex, and they'd burn in hell because of not conceiving good Catholic babbies.

Morag

http://realproductivehealth.com/map-your-map-experience/
is helpful if you are looking to buy the morning after pill/ emergency contraception.

So far it seems Dr Morris chemists are the cheapest.

Sauve

Morag wrote: »

You'd think they'd make contraception and visits related to contraception free for everyone.

Why so?
Above making say, heart medication free, or childrens' medication free?

pwurple

Cripes, I was just getting some contraception, and thought it was ridiculously cheap. €6.32 for 6 months worth of the pill.

Now, I did have to go to the GP, but I do get good value from the GP visits... On that visit where I got the pill, I also got an inhalor prescription renewed, a steroid prescription for my daughter 'just in case' we need it (usually use one of these a year), did a flu vaccine, checked a mole, checked the baby height/weight/hips and development, and did my BP for the pill as well. I go in with a list, it's never just one thing.

Ave Sodalis

Sauve wrote: »

OP your new GP should accept your medical card as a 'visitor' to the area, as long as they're a practice who deals with medical cards in the first place.
Could be worth looking into, it'd save you a fortune.

Yeah this is true. I had used mine up though earlier in the year in an emergency and it only lasts for three months after that. I could change my GP to them but I'm in my final year, the on campus doctor is cheaper (but were booked up this time) and this doctor was a bit of an arse to me so wouldn't want him anyway.

pwurple wrote: »

I go in with a list, it's never just one thing.

That's what I usually do. It's just unfortunate these things can't wait.

Sauve wrote: »

Why so?
Above making say, heart medication free, or childrens' medication free?

I wouldn't call for making it free but definitely cheaper and maybe have all repeat prescriptions free, not just contraception.

Dial Hard

sup_dude wrote: »

So I was at the doctor just there, getting my routine injection...That's ridiculous prices! Is this the same across all doctors or is this one just taking the mick? How can women afford routine contraception at such prices?

They're pretty standard prices. And women afford it because they've no choice if they're sexually active, simple as.

I pay €50 for the doctor's consultation and €12.70 per three-week pack of my pill. My doc is pretty cool about renewing the prescription a couple of times without making you come in and see him, but if he is asking me to come in for a check-up and there's nothing else wrong with me, I use Lloyd's Online Doctor instead, it's €25. I did see an ad for a new online service offering the same thing and they had an introductory offer of €10 for your first use, which I might go with next time. My prescription very rarely lasts the full six months as I tend to run packets together a lot.

My sister is on a much, much cheaper Pill (about €3 a pop) but I have absolutely zero issues/side effects with the Pill I'm on so I'm very much of the "if it ain't broke" school of thought on it.

The financial burden of contraception definitely falls disproportionately heavily on women, imo.

meeeeh

I had to go to gp in my home country and I didn't bother sorting out EU medical card before travelling (I do get travel insurance though). The nurse was apologizing for about five minutes that they have to charge me 25 euros for check up and prescription medication. I found it quite entertaining.

As many others, I sort out a few issues at the same time and pay about 60 or 70 Euro for kids and myself. I think prescription renewal without check up is 20 or 30 Euro. Then you can add a 200+ per month for two adults and two kids private insurance on top of that. It can be really expensive not having medical card.

Morag

Sauve wrote: »

Why so?
Above making say, heart medication free, or childrens' medication free?

Cos it's cheaper then child benefit.

Sauve

Morag wrote: »

Cos it's cheaper then child benefit.

Heart medication is cheaper than bypass surgery.
An antibiotic for a child is cheaper than a hospital stay to treat an advanced infection.

Being sexually active is a choice, and using contraception is a choice. Neither are anyway up the list of things that I'd consider should be free to people who choose to use them.
If you're sexually active and you don't want to become pregnant, then the sensible thing is to use contraception. But it's nobodies duty but your own to pay for it.

rainbow kirby

Sauve wrote: »

If you're sexually active and you don't want to become pregnant, then the sensible thing is to use contraception. But it's nobodies duty but your own to pay for it.

The NHS covers it. Obamacare generally covers it. Why shouldn't Ireland?

Sauve

rainbow kirby wrote: »

The NHS covers it. Obamacare generally covers it. Why shouldn't Ireland?

Why should Ireland, is the question really. There are far more pressing concerns that I'd make free of charge over contraception. Far more.

Addle

Sauve wrote: »

Heart medication is cheaper than bypass surgery.
An antibiotic for a child is cheaper than a hospital stay to treat an advanced infection.

Death is cheaper again!

meeeeh

rainbow kirby wrote: »

The NHS covers it. Obamacare generally covers it. Why shouldn't Ireland?

As far as I know nhs covers everything else too. I am in favour of free gp visits and prescription medication but I am not sure I would provide it solely for contraception. Personally kids cost me way more than pills. But in general I think either basic services should be free for all or means tested (that includes pensioners). When ever you do a blanket cover for a whole cohort of people it is including some that don't need it and excluding some that badly need it (the same goes for blanket cover for under fives).

rainbow kirby

All prescriptions are free in Scotland, in England and Wales there is a charge of around £7 per item if you don't have some kind of exemption from prescription charges.

meeeeh

rainbow kirby wrote: »

All prescriptions are free in Scotland, in England and Wales there is a charge of around £7 per item if you don't have some kind of exemption from prescription charges.

And I agree with that. But I think something like promised and never delivered healthcare reform would be more welcome than singular measures for one group of people. That being said free services cost in taxes which might disproportionately affect those who were not used paying for private health insurance or were previously covered by medical card.

I just think the whole issue is way more complex than just providing free contraception. On separate note I think most parents would prefer a free gp care for kids because they are a lot more expensive than contraception, majority of those in their thirties or older without dependants should be able to afford contraception and then you are left with under thirties. And they don't vote.

Stheno

I pay €80 every 12 weeks to see my gyne and get my injection.

For that I get someone who tracks when I need a DEXA scan, when I need a smear, and at my current age is willing to openly discuss a tubal ligation as it's now an option.

She also looks over my general health if I ask her to.

€360 per year outside of GP visits if I am struck down with plague (and my GP will tell you I don't go near her otherwise) for a fairly comprehensive chat and overview of my health works for me

It is a private clinic and I can go there on Saturdays, so no time off work needed, and she is rigourous in regards to checkups, scans and cervical checks. My OH and I use the same GP so she's also someone to talk to if I need to.

YumCha

I think the whole cost thing is linked to the 'nanny state' attitude towards prescription medication in Ireland. There are SO many things here which are available OTC over the border, all over Europe, and basically most places.

The two that drive me bonkers are Ponstan (mostly used for period pain - although I don't need it anymore because I have the Mirena) and Diflucan for thrush. When I brought up with my GP that these are both available OTC elsewhere she was of the opinion that people couldn't possibly be trusted - even though these are both available OTC in countries with millions more people than here.

Frankly, it's a joke. (And don't get me started on prescription costs - the way we're overcharged is thievery)

hfallada

Sauve wrote: »

Heart medication is cheaper than bypass surgery.
An antibiotic for a child is cheaper than a hospital stay to treat an advanced infection.

Being sexually active is a choice, and using contraception is a choice. Neither are anyway up the list of things that I'd consider should be free to people who choose to use them.
If you're sexually active and you don't want to become pregnant, then the sensible thing is to use contraception. But it's nobodies duty but your own to pay for it.

But the fact is people have sex and like to have sex. Yes its a choice, so is having a poor diet and ending up with diabetes. Without your logic the tax payer shouldnt pay for that persons medicine.

The government should pay for free contraception. It's the benefits are far greater than the costs. Women aren't going to drop out of education due to becoming pregnant. Women can choose when to have children. Therefore plan their career better. The state won't have to pay for mother's who can't support their unplanned child.

The fact is if your a teenager with no job. €15 for a box of condoms seems really expensive and it's worth the risk of no using them. If they were free you would use them. It's totally unreasonable for the state to pay for the heath care of a rich OAP with a medical card. But yet refuse to provide free contraception to broke students

meeeeh

Not all students are broke. It is exactly the same argument as for the OPAs. It should be available for everything or means tested. Even then it is often not fair.

pwurple

I'm curious, with the online prescriptions from llyods, how do you do the blood pressure check?

Do they talk about blood clot risks and how to recognise symptoms of them, advantages and disadvantages of different forms of contraception, how to take it correctly, what to do if you miss one... etc?

I quiz my GP fairly thoroughly about contraception. There are loads of different options out there. Mirena coil, nuvaring, implant, injection, gel, combination pill, progesterone only, low dose etc etc. I want to be sure the GP knows exactly what I'm looking for, what side effects I won't tolerate, my family history. I don't know how you get that without talking to a real person.

Tilly

My GP is €50 and I get a 6 month script for a €3 pill. Pretty cheap considering the chances of getting pregnant without it in my book.

Dial Hard

pwurple wrote: »

I'm curious, with the online prescriptions from llyods, how do you do the blood pressure check?

Do they talk about blood clot risks and how to recognise symptoms of them, advantages and disadvantages of different forms of contraception, how to take it correctly, what to do if you miss one... etc?

I quiz my GP fairly thoroughly about contraception. There are loads of different options out there. Mirena coil, nuvaring, implant, injection, gel, combination pill, progesterone only, low dose etc etc. I want to be sure the GP knows exactly what I'm looking for, what side effects I won't tolerate, my family history. I don't know how you get that without talking to a real person.

It's not suitable for everyone. You've to do a very comprehensive medical history background with them and if they think you've any sort of risk factor, they won't prescribe for you. You have to provide a blood pressure reading every time you renew, which pretty much any pharmacist will do for you. Obviously, there's nothing to stop you lying through your teeth about your medical history/weight/blood pressure to them, but anyone stupid enough to do that has bigger issues, imo.

I'm pretty much the ideal candidate for it - non-smoker, never had any weight issues, never had any blood pressure issues, no familial risk-factors, no Pill-related side effects, ever. If something changed or if I had any specific concerns, I'd go to my doctor. But as things stand, Lloyds is perfect for me.

Lia_lia

I don't mind paying for contraception. My pill is about €35 for 6 months. When I was a student we could see the doctor for free in college to get a pill prescription...it was great! At work we get a free quick doctors visit three times a year for things like prescriptions...so I have been lucky.


One tip if you are on the pill get 6 months at a time, works out way cheaper!

Dial Hard

Lia_lia wrote: »

One tip if you are on the pill get 6 months at a time, works out way cheaper!

I think a lot of pharmacies are cottoning onto the fact that people are wising up about dispensation fees; it's happened me a few times recently that when I ask for the full six months in one go they claim they don't have the stock and can only give me a month or two, which I'm very Scooby Doo-bious about, I have to say.

Lia_lia

My pharmacy are the ones that told me about it! I was very surprised they did..

Penny Tration

My pill is 15 quid a month, and 55 euro every 6 months to see my gp because she won't give me a prescription for longer than 6 months at a time (wants to check my blood pressure).

I'm on another medication (not contraception) that's 50 euro a month (for the generic!), plus a gp visit every three months to get a prescription for it, as I'm not allowed more than 3 months at a time.

As it stands, my parents pay for the 50 quid a month medication because I can't afford it at all, and I can't be without it.

Ocean Blue

Dial Hard wrote: »

I think a lot of pharmacies are cottoning onto the fact that people are wising up about dispensation fees; it's happened me a few times recently that when I ask for the full six months in one go they claim they don't have the stock and can only give me a month or two, which I'm very Scooby Doo-bious about, I have to say.

There have been stock shortages of some pills this year. And problems with expiry dates. Cilest definitely, ovranette too i think. Maybe others!

nidgeweaseal

sup_dude wrote: »

So I was at the doctor just there, getting my routine injection. I didn't have my medical card because it's not my GP (who I'd usually use) as I'm in college. What left me dumbfounded (other than the fact the doctor was a prick but that's another story) was the price! €40 for literally 3 minutes of stabbing a needle into my rear end. In fact, would have been half a minute if he didn't spend so long sneering at me and that was with a student discount. So I had a look at the price list on the way out. It's usually fifty euro and that's not the most expensive thing. The implant is €140 to get in and €100 to get out. A Cervical Check is €100! That's ridiculous prices! Is this the same across all doctors or is this one just taking the mick? How can women afford routine contraception at such prices? I use a medical card and I'm very grateful for it at the best of times but now I'm very thankful for it...

Just don't use it and get pregnant see how much that costs. Abortion will cost a lot more.

Ave Sodalis

nidgeweaseal wrote: »

Just don't use it and get pregnant see how much that costs. Abortion will cost a lot more.

I didn't say I wouldn't pay it. If I had to pay for it ordinarily, it would just be in place of something else on my budget, most likely food since that's my biggest expenditure. It doesn't change the fact that it's ridiculously expensive.

Dial Hard

green_screen wrote: »

My pill is 15 quid a month, and 55 euro every 6 months to see my gp because she won't give me a prescription for longer than 6 months at a time (wants to check my blood pressure).

I've never heard of a GP prescribing more than a 6 month supply at a time, tbh.

camoramo

Dial Hard wrote: »

I've never heard of a GP prescribing more than a 6 month supply at a time, tbh.

They're not technically allowed because you have to get your blood pressure checked every 6 months on the pill. I had to get an annual prescription when I was moving abroad and the doctor gave me 2 separate 6 month prescriptions and I had to go to two different pharmacies to get them!
Everyone here seems to be on really expensive pills, mines about €3 per pack.
You can go to the nurse instead of the doctor for a repeat presciption and it's only €30.

Ilyana 2.0

I don't mind having to pay for my pill. It's about €9-€10 a month, and I'm willing to pay that for peace of mind. I tend not to buy it in bulk because I've changed pill a few times. If I was on the same one for years I probably might.

What bothers me is the cost of seeing the GP in the first place. I usually try to time my prescription visits for when I'm in college, but it still costs €25 to see the GP (as opposed to €50 at home). And at that, they seem pretty disinterested in actually helping you. Even if you only need to see the nurse for a repeat prescription (i.e printing off a piece of paper and having it signed), it's still €15. And, as an aside, a STD check costs €80, which definitely won't induce students to get them done regularly.

I actually dread becoming sick outside of term time because a visit to the GP could cost half my week's wages, without prescriptions.

Sauve

Dial Hard wrote: »

I think a lot of pharmacies are cottoning onto the fact that people are wising up about dispensation fees; it's happened me a few times recently that when I ask for the full six months in one go they claim they don't have the stock and can only give me a month or two, which I'm very Scooby Doo-bious about, I have to say.

I'm surprised to hear that. Most pharmacies will be happy to give you the cheapest option they can, by suggesting this option, and/or offering you cheaper alternatives (generics).
If it happens again that they don't have the full six months, ask them to charge you for the six months and owe you the remainder which you can pick up after they order in new stock. Or ask them to order six months supply and call to collect the whole lot the following day.
If they refuse any of that, I'd go elsewhere tbh.

bee06

Dial Hard wrote: »

I've never heard of a GP prescribing more than a 6 month supply at a time, tbh.

The 6 month limit is actually something enforced by the pharmacies rather than doctors. My doctor prescribed me an 8 packet supply once because I was running packs together and would be back within 6 months anyway. He said he wasn't sure if the pharmacy would fill it though and they refused to fill the last two months. Said it was some regulation. The fact that my doctor said it was fine didn't matter.

pwurple

bee06 wrote: »

The 6 month limit is actually something enforced by the pharmacies rather than doctors. My doctor prescribed me an 8 packet supply once because I was running packs together and would be back within 6 months anyway. He said he wasn't sure if the pharmacy would fill it though and they refused to fill the last two months. Said it was some regulation. The fact that my doctor said it was fine didn't matter.

It's the manufacturers instructions I'd say. The pharmacists have to follow those.

As for the shortages, that is happened too, across a large range of medicines. There are directives about distribution and serialisation that impact current supply.

Sauve

pwurple wrote: »

It's the manufacturers instructions I'd say. The pharmacists have to follow those.

Nuh uh, the drug companies just make and market the product. The pharmacies are governed by Pharmaceutical Association and take all their guidance from them, as well as what the doctor has prescribed.

Sunny Dayz

I use the Evra contraceptive patch, it costs just under €20 per month. I didn't realise that the pill was so much cheaper. I have difficulty swallowing tablets so I never really considered the pill. Plus having to remember to take the pill each day as opposed to changing the patch once a week.

kylith

Sunny Dayz wrote: »

I use the Evra contraceptive patch, it costs just under €20 per month. I didn't realise that the pill was so much cheaper. I have difficulty swallowing tablets so I never really considered the pill. Plus having to remember to take the pill each day as opposed to changing the patch once a week.

I usually time it for when I'm doing something that I do at the same time every day - going to bed or getting up, but my schedule is very stable.

If you're worried about swallowing tablets - the pill is absolutely tiny in relation to something like an aspirin, only a few millimetres across.

skallywag

hfallada wrote: »

...But yet refuse to provide free contraception to broke students...

I would have fully agreed with you when I was a broke student myself. Mind you I also channelled the bulk of my available cash to going out and socialising. I would have had no problem in paying for contraception if I was willing to sacrifice something on the said social front.

sunshine and showers

Sauve wrote: »

Why so?
Above making say, heart medication free, or childrens' medication free?

Because it's cheaper to the state than the cost of more children. Because it would reduce teen pregnancy rates, unwanted pregnancies and abortion numbers. Because it's the least the government could do if we're not even going to be allowed to vote to make abortion legal anytime soon.

Mostly because sex is a reality of life and access to education and contraception for people so they engage in safer sex can only be a good thing for the population as a whole.

skallywag

It's difficult to argue against free contraception.

The thing is though, how could Ireland possibly afford such an initiative at the moment? What would we rob from in order to pay for it, and would that then be accepted by the vast majority of the country?