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If you're worried about your future access to affordable birth control, you're not alone.
Planned Parenthood has seen a 900% increase in IUD demands since Donald Trump's election, Slate reports, and last week's House passage of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) is sowing even more anxiety among women who fear losing access to birth control if the bill makes it through the Senate.
Is this panic entirely warranted, though? Not necessarily, says Stanford medical student and health policy researcher Nuriel Moghavem, who writes the Informed Consent Health Policy newsletter. "If you're in the roughly 50% of insured Californians who get coverage through your employer, AHCA won't change that much for you," Moghavem told LAist, explaining that AHCA focuses on Medical and the individual insurance market, "so if you already have insurance, your birth-control coverage won't necessarily change—the issue is that is that fewer women will be able to get insured in the first place."
Even if AHCA does grant individual states the right to suspend coverage for birth control, California is unlikely to take advantage of that option; still, with federal funding for Planned Parenthood hanging in the balance, this uncertain political moment is pushing many women to consider forms of long-acting reversible contraception, like IUDs. An intra uterine device—for those who aren't familiar, and in very scientific terms—is basically just a little T-shaped device that a doctor places up in your uterus to put the baby-making gears on hold. Though no birth control is 100% effective, the IUD is about as close as it gets (it's widely considered to be the most foolproof form of birth control out there, save for permanent sterilization and, you know, abstinence).
IUDs aren't right for everyone, but they're among the longest-lasting forms of birth control on the market; hormonal IUDs like Mirena can last between three and six years, and the non-hormonal ParaGard IUD can work for up to 12 years (for a full rundown on IUDs, check out this Bedsider post). The Nexplanon implant, another form of long-acting reversible contraception, lasts up to three years.
Getting an IUD can cost up to a $1,000, but if you have health insurance, there is a good chance that your IUD will be covered—meaning it will either be free, or low cost, according to Planned Parenthood.
Whether you're seeking a long-term form of birth control or just want to discuss your options, we've rounded up a few of L.A.'s options for low-cost, accessible sexual health information and reproductive care.
Planned Parenthood. The oldest women's health center in the U.S., Planned Parenthood has been providing low-cost reproductive care and sexual-health information for almost 100 years. Planned Parenthood has 19 centers throughout Los Angeles, with locations in Burbank to Baldwin Hills to Van Nuys; —call (800) 576-5544 to make an appointment, or book online here.
FPA Women's Health. FPA Women's Health offers low-cost reproductive health coverage to Angelenos at seven locations in the L.A. area, including Downtown LA and Santa Monica; LARCs are available at all locations. To make an appointment, call (877) 883.7264 or book online here.
Her Medical Clinic. Centrally located at 1414 S Grand Avenue in Downtown LA, Her Medical Clinic offers hormonal IUDs along with a full range of women's health services. The clinic is open M-F from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday until 1 p.m. and is closed Sunday—to make an appointment, call (213) 747-4391.
For a full list of low-cost reproductive health-care providers run by the Los Angeles Department of Health services, visit the DHS website.
