Calls for contraceptive to be subsidised

There are renewed calls for a highly effective contraceptive to be subsidised by Pharmac to ensure it’s available for all women – regardless of economic status.

It’s hoped new research, published this week in The Journal of Primary Health Care, will help in a push by Family Planning New Zealand to have Pharmac fund a type of intrauterine device (IUD) known commonly as Mirena.

Co-author and Family Planning doctor Catriona Murray has, for the past few years, seen firsthand the device’s high cost – $340 – deter many women from what was often the best option for them.

‘‘In the clinic, we would talk about the options and I would say Mirena is best for them, they would agree and then I would say the cost and while some women were fine, some with different circumstances said ‘there’s no way I can afford that’. So you have to end up giving her something you know is not going to be as good for her and that is really, really heartbreaking.’’

Eager to back up what she had been seeing in her clinics, Murray embarked on a research project to determine whether there was a difference in the number of women paying for the Mirena from different socio-economic groups, and also by ethnicity.

Data taken in 2015 across the Wellington region found 320 Mirena devices were inserted – a quarter of which were subsidised. However, Murray found that Ma¯ori, Pacific people and those residing in poorer areas chose self-funding far less. ‘‘Those were the only groups where we saw that flip and it’s totally reflective of what I experience every day in the clinic. There are just those people who can’t afford it.

‘‘It’s hard because it’s making their lives even harder not being able to go away and have light, or no, periods and not have good contraception.’’

She noted that those who were eligible to have it funded, usually because of special medical circumstances, were ‘‘more than happy’’ to use the Mirena.

Mirena differs from the traditional IUDs because it contains a synthetic progesterone hormone. This hormone is released into the womb over five years, causing very few systemic effects.

It works to thin the lining of the uterus, meaning lighter or non-existent periods.

Family Planning has been advocating for the device to be funded, at least partially, by Pharmac for the past few years but with the new research, along with September’s World Contraceptive Day, chief executive Jackie Edmond said the time felt right to renew the plea.