Cost of a Mirena IUD (other brands are similarly priced). Data from health insurance claims collected by Amino

We’ve been living high on the hog these last few years: getting mammograms and colonoscopies whenever we need them, vaccinating ourselves against cancer-causing viruses for free, preventing unwanted babies from showing up in our wombs without having to spend our rent money to do so. But those days might be over soon, and we have some price tags we’re going to need to get used to.



Recent Video This browser does not support the video element. Use Pool Noodles to Protect Your Bikes and Computer Monitors

Amino, a health data company, has the numbers on what insurance companies are paying right now for some of those basic preventive care measures. And since medical costs go up every year, those price tags are higher than what you remember from pre-Obamacare days. We’re looking at $1,628 for the colonoscopies we’re supposed to start getting at age 50, $267 for mammograms, and around $1,000 for an IUD, a form of birth control that’s nearly foolproof and is actually the most cost effective in the long run. Those are national averages, so half of us are paying even more.

If the latest version of Trumpcare ends up becoming law, states can tell insurance companies they don’t need to cover any of this. And that’s bad news for nearly everyone’s health. You see, the Affordable Care Act requires that all major insurance plans cover preventive care for free (yes, even if you have a huge deductible) not because liberals love free stuff, but because people are healthier when they get their preventive care on time rather than looking at their bank account and saying, hmm, maybe next year.

Friday's Best Deals: Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Fitbit Ace 2, 20% off... Read on The Inventory


These costs fall heaviest on women, who often possess a wonderful and complex type of reproductive system that requires more medical care. That $206 for cervical cancer screening (pap smear and/or HPV testing) is money that people without a cervix—mostly dudes—don’t have to worry about. Women already make less than men, so in a world without fair insurance provisions, we have to pay for more care with less money.

The ACA is still in place, although we don’t know for how long. If you’re not already caught up on your vaccines and cancer screenings, now would be a good time to do that.

Advertisement