Medicaid should cover IUDs | Letter

Washington has a reputation as a nationwide leader on things like access to abortion and birth control, but the truth is that there is still a lot of work to be done. Right now, fair access to affordable birth control does not exist and it’s going to get worse.

May 26, 2015 11:33 am
Letter to the editor
Letter to the editor

 

Washington has a reputation as a nationwide leader on things like access to abortion and birth control, but the truth is that there is still a lot of work to be done. Right now, fair access to affordable birth control does not exist and it’s going to get worse.

It’s been proven that the types of birth control that work the best are methods like IUDs and implants. With an IUD or implant, you are set for years instead of having to take a pill every day.

Increasing access to IUDs and implants does amazing things. In Colorado, an anonymous donation made these methods available at free or reduced cost to anyone who wanted them. The results? Five years in, the teen birth rate has dropped by 40 percent.

We should be able to do the same in Washington. Right now unfair treatment from Medicaid is making it harder for low-income women to get IUDs and implants, and that has to change. Governor Inslee and the legislature should do something about this problem and make sure that all women in Washington have equal access to the birth control method that they choose.

Holly Quimby, Seattle