Better health, lower VA costs
CHERP researchers and colleagues from the University of Pittsburgh demonstrated that adoption of a 12-month oral contraceptives dispensing option is expected to produce substantial cost savings for the VA while better supporting reproductive autonomy and reducing unintended pregnancy among women veterans.
Research led by CHERP investigators and colleagues, including Colleen Judge-Golden, Sonya Borrero, MD, MS, and Maria Mor, PhD, has demonstrated that the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) can improve care and outcomes for Veterans while saving more than $2 million per year by adopting a 12-month dispensing option for oral contraceptive pills. VHA is the largest integrated health system in the U.S. and serves a growing population of reproductive-aged women Veterans.
Read the full article, Financial Implications of 12-Month Dispensing of Oral Contraceptive Pills in the Veterans Affairs Health Care System in JAMA Internal Medicine here: https://bit.ly/2M5261e
The research results have prompted wide-ranging coverage in the media, including:
ABC's Good Morning America: https://gma.abc/2M1SHYs
Reuters: https://reut.rs/32mFIGf
USA Today: https://bit.ly/2XHNDPU
WESA-FM Pittsburgh National Public Radio: https://bit.ly/2YcstsK
WSIL News Carbondale Wisconsin:
http://www.wsiltv.com/story/40832677/doctor-weighs-in-on-benefits-of-up-front-year-supply-of-birth-control
Key Points
Question What are the expected financial and reproductive health implications for the Veterans Affairs health care system of implementing a 12-month dispensing option for oral contraceptive pills?
Findings In this economic decision model built from the Veterans Affairs health system payer perspective using a cohort of 240,309 women, adoption of a 12-month dispensing option for oral contraceptive pills is expected to produce substantial cost savings for the payer compared with standard 3-month dispensing, while reducing unintended pregnancies among women veterans.
Meaning A 12-month dispensing option for oral contraceptive pills is economically feasible for the Veterans Affairs health system while better supporting women veterans' reproductive goals and autonomy.
This content of this article does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. government or the Department of Veterans Affairs.
