Most of the women I know have seen their doctors for some sort of problem related to their reproductive organs. So I wasn’t surprised to hear that the vast majority of women use health care services for female-specific conditions at some point in their lives.

It goes without saying that these services are not free. But just how much do women spend on health care for these conditions?

Recently, a team of researchers sought to find out. Experts from Penn State, Johns Hopkins, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality examined data from an annual nationwide survey of health care expenditures. They aimed to describe health care use for female-specific conditions and the related costs.

What can we say about health care use?

A look at the data from the National Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS 2000-2003) showed that more than one-fifth of women (21.2%) sought care for a female-specific condition during a 1-year period. They sought five categories of female-only problems:

• Gynecologic disorders
• Pregnancy-related conditions
• Menopausal symptoms
• Non-malignant breast disease
• Female cancers

These categories included conditions such as ovarian cysts, endometriosis, cervical cancer, breast cysts, gestational diabetes, miscarriage, uterine cancer, ectopic pregnancy, and more.

In most cases, women sought outpatient care for their problems. Often, they needed to see their doctor several times before it was resolved.

However, there were some interesting differences in the health care use of women who lacked health insurance. Earlier research has indicated that women without health insurance are less likely to receive preventive care, which can mean that they don’t get care until their situation is more dire. (This results in poorer cancer and birth outcomes for these women.)

Uninsured women in this study were more likely to seek care in an emergency room and less likely to have visited a doctor, filled a prescription, or been hospitalized. Also, women who were pregnant but not covered by health insurance were twice as likely as women who had health insurance all or part of the year to have not visited a doctor about this condition. Pregnant women who lack insurance may forego prenatal care.

What can we say about health care costs?

Use of health care services for female-specific disorders greatly increases women’s costs for health care. About 40% of women’s health care costs, totaling a whopping $43.3 billion dollars per year (an average of $1,764 per woman) were related to these conditions. Costs ranged from an average of $483 per year for menopausal disorders to $3,896 per year for female cancers.

Yet more than 20% of women found themselves to be without health insurance for some or all of the year.

What does this all mean?

Women’s health care needs are different than men’s, in part due to the complex nature of reproduction and their reproductive system. The researchers who conducted this study have two recommendations for improving the health care for women across the lifespan:

• Ensure access to outpatient care so that women do not need to go to the emergency room for care of these disorders. This ensures women can receive care from providers who are knowledgeable about these disorders (ER staff often are not) as well as continuity of care (ER visits lack follow-up).
• Ensure access to providers experienced with female-specific disorders.

These recommendations seem to be good ones for those of us who are women—and those of us who are raising the next generation of women.

A few words of caution

The percentage of women who use female-specific health care may be underestimated in this study, washed out by the inclusion of data for youth. Researchers included data for females ages 14 and older in this study, but—while girls 14 are biologically capable of reproduction—many will not receive health care for female-specific problems until they are adults, because many such conditions are in part a function of age, because many adolescents do not make their own health care decisions, and/or because they face additional barriers to care. In truth, it is likely more than 21% of adult women seek health care for female-specific conditions and incur costs for these services.

Also, while this study provides a snapshot of women’s health care costs related to their reproductive system, it does not attempt to look at women’s total health care costs or to compare their costs with those of men (for their reproductive system or otherwise).

also in babygooroo

Amy wrote about a new toolkit for employers related to maternal and child health and health care costs.

For more information:

Science Direct