The Association of Health Insurance with Use of Prescription
Contraceptives CONTEXT: Given that substantial proportions of
women of reproductive age lack health insurance coverage, it is
important to assess whether lack of insurance is associated with
the use of prescription contraceptives, which are the most
expensive but also the most effective methods for preventing
pregnancy. METHODS: Data from 26,674 females aged 18–44 who
participated in the 2002 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance
System survey (representing more than 25 million women in the
U.S. population) were used to assess risk of unintended
pregnancy, prescription contraceptive use and health insurance
status. Logistic regression models tested the likelihood of
prescription contraceptive use among insured versus uninsured
respondents after controlling for socioeconomic characteristics
and self-reported overall health. RESULTS: A significantly
higher proportion of insured women than of uninsured women
reported use of prescription contraceptives (5