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Does Medicare Cover Birth Control?

Does Medicare Cover Birth Control?

Christian Worstell | April 17, 2023

While Original Medicare does not cover birth control, other parts of Medicare might. Find out the details in this article.

According to the AARP, more than one-third of those receiving Medicare benefits were at least 75 years old, as of 2016, and almost 9.2 million beneficiaries were between 65 and 67. With age demographics like that, it's not surprising that birth control is a low priority for most Medicare enrollees.

However, Medicare does provide benefits to some younger people and those with end-stage renal disease, and for some women in these groups, birth control may be important. Find out more details below about whether or not Medicare covers birth control.

Does Medicare Cover Birth Control?

In general, Medicare Parts A and B do not offer coverage for birth control. Medicare Part D, though, which offers prescription drug coverage, may offer some coverage for birth control, depending on the type of plan you have.

And if you're enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan (Part C), your plan may also include some coverage for birth control.

How Prescription Drug Coverage Works

Each Medicare Part D plan has its own list of covered prescription drugs, and it's called a formulary, and within this are different drug tiers. The drugs in each tier have different costs. Every drug category generally has two options: a brand name and generic equivalent.

Medicare and Birth Control

Because Medicare Part D only covers prescription drugs, the birth control pill is the only contraception method that would probably be covered. Other options, such as an intrauterine device (IUD), birth control patch or contraceptive implant likely wouldn't be covered under Part D.

However, if you have a Medicare Advantage Part C plan, you might have some coverage for birth control depending on what your plan is. Part C plans are provided by insurance companies and approved by Medicare and are offered as alternatives to Original Medicare (Parts A and B). Medicare Advantage plans also sometimes include additional coverage for things like vision and dental care.

Check With Your Medicare Representative

If you're enrolled in Part C or have Part D prescription drug coverage, check with your plan administrator to see if your Medicare plan might cover birth control. You can also look over your plan documents to see if birth control coverage is included.

About the Author

Christian Worstell is a senior Medicare and health insurance writer with HelpAdivsor.com. He is also a licensed health insurance agent. Christian is well-known in the insurance industry for the thousands of educational articles he’s written, helping Americans better understand their health insurance and Medicare coverage.

Christian’s work as a Medicare expert has appeared in several top-tier and trade news outlets including Forbes, MarketWatch, WebMD and Yahoo! Finance.

While at HelpAdvisor, Christian has written hundreds of articles that teach Medicare beneficiaries the best practices for navigating Medicare. His articles are read by thousands of older Americans each month. By better understanding their health care coverage, readers may hopefully learn how to limit their out-of-pocket Medicare spending and access quality medical care.

Christian’s passion for his role stems from his desire to make a difference in the senior community. He strongly believes that the more beneficiaries know about their Medicare coverage, the better their overall health and wellness is as a result.

A current resident of Raleigh, Christian is a graduate of Shippensburg University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. You can find Christian’s most recent articles in our blog.

If you’re a member of the media looking to connect with Christian, please don’t hesitate to email our public relations team at Mike@MyHelpAdvisor.com.