Frank's Musings

Insuring Birth Control Medications

There are those who object to the spreading of insurance risk for birth control medications on moral grounds. There are those who object on political grounds and those who insist on covering birth control medications under insurance plans on political grounds. Theselatter groups include those who use birth control medications even though they could afford them if they were not covered by their insurance plans.

There are those who desire to use birth control medications but cannot afford them unless their insurance plans pay for them. This group is unable to afford raising unplanned-for children. Moreover, this group is unlikely to practice behavior governed by principles of future-preference, perhaps because their experience is that things do not get better over time.

It is probably better for society as a whole that our national health system allowed birth control medications to be dispensed as part of whatever insurance plan is available even to those who are totally dependent on it so that they can make choices regarding the size and timing of their families that result in social peace. By the way, the libertarian argument against spreading the cost of birth control medications across the entire population does not hold water because otherwise the cost of dealing with the consequences of uncontrolled population growth must be paid for by the entire public in the interest of maintaining civil order.