More people started using IUDs and implants after B.C. made almost all forms of prescription birth control free, according to a new UBC research study.
The study, led by Dr. Laura Schummers, found a 49 per cent jump in the number of “long-acting reversible contraceptives” (LARC) dispensed per month, 15 months after B.C.’s free contraception program began in April 2023.
“This really tells us that there was a substantial cost-related barrier to using contraception as a whole,” said Schummers, assistant professor at the University of B.C. in the faculty of pharmaceutical sciences.
That “LARC” category — the most effective type of birth control — includes the IUD (intrauterine device), which is placed directly into the uterus, and the subdermal arm implant, placed under the skin in the upper arm. The implant lasts for three years, while the IUD can last for up to 12 years.
The study found an additional 11,375 people using those methods within 15 months of the policy taking effect.
Schummers said it shows that people across age groups and demographics will prefer more effective contraceptive methods when costs are removed.
An IUD can cost between $350 and $450 in Canada, and the upfront cost can be a barrier, according to Schummers.
Schummers said B.C.’s “landmark” policy has influenced discussions around free prescription medications in Canada. She noted Manitoba also started a free contraception program in October 2024.
“Nearly a 50 per cent increase … in the context of evaluating policy changes is huge,” Schummers said.
“This is not a few people at the margins whose insurance coverage wasn’t quite right. This is telling us that there’s a broad need for this kind of broad coverage, not just a limited sort of Band-Aid to maybe change an income threshold for coverage availability.”
The research study used two data sources, including a national database to look at prescriptions across B.C. for LARC and all contraception, as well as consider that data against a control group including all the other Canadian provinces that didn’t make contraception free.
Dr. Renée Hall, medical director of Willow Reproductive Health Centre in Vancouver, said her experience at the clinic tracks with the study’s findings.
“There has been a significant increase since universal contraceptives started,” she said.
The clinic has actually created a new phone line specifically for people calling in for long-acting reversible contraceptives like the IUD and implant.
Hall said that the universal contraception program has given patients the chance to find the best contraceptive for them.
“If the IUD didn’t work out … they could easily switch to another until they found the one that could work,” she said, “whereas that’s really difficult to do if you have to pay the $400 for your first IUD and then another $200 for the next one.”
Hall said that she recommends more training for IUD insertion, which she said is “still a little bit lacking in our usual medical programs.”
Hall said the study shows the public wants access to effective, long-acting birth control.
“And so the health-care community has to respond by making sure that we’re training our providers correctly and frequently,” she said.
