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Women's Health Issues
March 2017

Did Contraceptive Use Patterns Change After the Affordable Care Act?: A Descriptive Analysis

Jonathan Bearak,Guttmacher Institute
Rachel K. Jones,Guttmacher Institute
The time is now. Will you stand up for reproductive health and rights?
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First published online: March 13, 2017 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2017.01.006

Background

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) substantially increased rates of insurance coverage within the first year of implementation, including among women of reproductive age. The ACA also requires that private insurance plans cover contraceptives without any out-of-pocket costs. These provisions may have led more women to start using prescription contraception.


Study Design

We conducted two cross-sectional studies, collecting data from 8,062 women aged 18 to 39 in the fall 2012 and spring 2015. We examined contraceptive use patterns during both time periods. We used logistic regression to determine whether differences between the two time periods were significant, adjusting for the demographic characteristics of respondents.


Results

We observed no changes in contraceptive use patterns among sexually active women. However, use of the pill nearly doubled, from 21% to 40%, among young women aged 18 to 24 who had not had sex in the last month. Many of these women cited benefits of the pill in addition to pregnancy prevention.


Conclusions

It may be that the ACA has yet to affect contraceptive use patterns, and it is possible that it will do so in the future, but the evidence thus far suggests the importance of further research into contraceptive access and sources of care.

Full text available to subscribers at Women's Health Issues

Affiliation

Jonathan Bearak is a Senior Research Scientist and Rachel K. Jones is a Principal Research Scientist, both at the Guttmacher Institute, New York.

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News Release

New Study Finds Little Change in Patterns of U.S. Contraceptive Use From 2012 to 2015

News in Context

Uninsured Rate Among Women of Reproductive Age Has Fallen More Than One-Third Under the Affordable Care Act

Infographic

Fewer U.S. Women of Reproductive Age Were Uninsured in 2015

Policy Analysis

Impact of the federal contraceptive coverage guarantee on out-of-pocket payments for contraceptives: 2014 update

Contraception
Infographic

The Affordable Care Act's contraceptive coverage guarantee is working...

Topic

United States

  • Contraception: Affordable Care Act (ACA)

Geography

  • Northern America: United States
    • Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

Tags

birth control
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