Contraceptive pills, implants or IUDs… Women with lower incomes use reimbursed contraceptives less than others, at all ages of reproductive life, notes an INED study, published this Wednesday.
Only 36% of low-income women use a reimbursed contraceptive, compared to 46% of women with higher incomes, indicates this study by the National Institute of Demographic Studies (INED), carried out in collaboration with the National Institute of Health and medical research (Inserm). “This disparity persists regardless of the age of women,” specifies an INED summary.
Difficulty accessing doctors
Health Insurance reimburses certain contraceptive pills, hormonal contraceptive implants, injectable progestins, intrauterine devices (IUDs) or IUDs and diaphragms. The INED study shows that “the removal of a financial barrier, through reimbursement, does not guarantee the absence of other barriers which could hinder access to contraception for low-income women”, notes the study.
These women could, for example, encounter “difficulties accessing contraceptive prescribers” or administrative difficulties in maintaining their social security coverage. In detail, low-income women aged 20 to 24 use oral contraceptives less (23% versus 38%) and more implants than those with average or high incomes (8% versus 4%).
The question of “informed choice”
At ages 45 to 49, low-income women use a hormonal intrauterine device (IUD) less frequently (6% versus 14%). “A thorough understanding of the obstacles hindering the use of contraceptives is of crucial importance to enable women to make informed choices regarding the spacing and timing of their pregnancies,” underlines INED.
This study was carried out on health insurance data from 14.8 million women, aged 15 to 49, living in France in 2019. Among them, 11% lived below the monetary poverty line, or around 1,100 euros for a single person.