The Cost Of Being Female

TIMELINE THE COST OF BEING FEMALE SCREENING FOR GESTATIONAL DIABETES FOR PREGNANT WOMEN How Much the Average Woman Spends on a Lifetime Birth of Basic Health Care S300 $294.00 The Institute of Medicine has named eight preventive services that women should get for free under the new health care law. Democrats and women's health organiza- $270 tions are rejoicing-they've been fighting for this for years. But exactly how much money are we talking about? We imagined a “typical" American woman whose S240 S210 sexual health and life choices correlated with the national averages, and tallied up the money required to ensure she's in good reproductive health. This timeline shows all the milestones that would be free, should the Department of Health decide to take the IOM's advice. Turns out S180 $147.00 S150 being a woman is pretty pricey. S120 ΤΙMELINE ΚΕΥ $90 $80.00 Diabetes HIV Sterilization Screening Counseling $60 $40.00 Lactation Domestic Abuse HPV Testing $30 Support Counceling Hormonal JUD Insertion Birth Control Double these totals, because the average American woman has two babies in her lifetime. CHART KEY: With insurance Without insurance HIGH-RISK HPV TESTING Starting at 3o, she'll need an HPV test every 3 years until about age 70. = $20.00 That's about 40 years, or 13 comprehensive Pap smears. ANNUAL HIV COUNSELING AND SCREENING If she has one screening a year for 30 years, she's out anywhere from $1,500 to $6,000. $50 COPAY $150-$200 $50 $10 $150 $200 ANNUAL COUNSELING FOR STD INFECTIONS FULL RANGE OF BIRTH CONTROL The average American woman will spend 30 years trying to prevent pregnancy. This is the one thing she can probably get free now at a local health clinic, although as of now much of the education women get If she's on hormonal birth control, the monthly co-pays are about $15 to $50. MONDAY MON ONDAY MONDAY about STDS in some states comes from 31 3 31 31 OR abstinence-only health classes, while clinics close down around them. $180 TO $600 A YEAR $5,400 TO $18,000 A LIFETIME An IUD insertions with health insurance costs about $60, and needs to be inserted every 5 years. Without health insurance, it can be more than MON ONDAY MONDAY LACTATION SUPPORT AND COUNSELING, EQUIPMENT FOR BREASTFEEDING 3 31 31 It costs $80 for a single lactation class, plus about $670 for breast- feeding supplies. $600, OR $3,600 FOR A LIFETIME X If she decides to get sterilized, it'll cost her anywhere from $1,500 to $6000. Most insurances cover it, but only partially, so the costs could still be up to $2000. SCREENING AND COUNSELING FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Some insurance companies pay for a few counseling sessions, but 5 sessions will still cost her $200 in copays. Out of pocket, it could cost her around $1000. ANNUAL PELVIC EXAM By the time she turns 18, a woman will have her first pelvic exam, and gets an average of one a year until she is about 70. That's 52 exams. 5 TOTAL SESSIONS • Start I Exam I End But the real cost of not providing this service for free is often a life, since most women don't seek out counseling in the first place. GOOD Death At a $40 co-pay for each, she'll spend $2,080 on preventative pelvic exams throughout her life. If she doesn't have insurance, she'll spend an average of $120 a pop at Planned Parenthood. SEE MORE AT WWW.GOOD.IS/INFOGRAPHICS A collaboration between GOOD and Dylan C. Lathrop Sources: Planned Parenthood and Quest Diagnostics, www.healthcarebluebook.com, Guttmacher Institute, Kaiser Family Institute, www.suite101.com %24 Average cost of HIV test