No Vasectomy for You!

[Paragon Fury]

So I learned something interesting about both my local hospitals and health insurance recently. Apparently, vasectomies are not covered by my health insurance (unnecessary medical expense) and neither of my local hospitals will let their payment plans cover any charges/bills associated with a vasectomy. I've learned since this isn't terribly uncommon.

While I could maybe understand the hospital not covering them (after all, free money!), insurance not covering them? Of all the "unnecessary procedures" one could get.....you'd think this is the one they'd cover.

"He wants to get a simple, easy surgery that will prevent us from ever having to pay massive child-related bills and costs in the future for him and possibly several women? And from having to cover children? And he wants to do it willingly? By the gods, we should PAY HIM to have the surgery!"

I thought it was a bit funny. Though sad, since its not a cheap deal and thus makes it hard to get.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Because being a father doesn't take you out of the workplace for months on end (in the traditional mindset) and doesn't cost them a direct dime (the woman's the one giving birth) so they just don't see it as essential to bother with.

If it was up to me all forms of birth control would be covered by the government, not that that would ever happen- they've gotta have their little future taxpayers, after all.

 

[Colour Scientist]

If it was up to me all forms of birth control would be covered by the government, not that that would ever happen- they've gotta have their little future taxpayers, after all.

Seconded but to answer the OP, I imagine it's largely because it's elective and unnecessary surgery.

By unnecessary, I mean there are other, non-surgical means of preventing pregnancy and the burden of cost for these options falls on the individual.

Insurance companies are money-making institutions, they aren't going to take the cost from the individual and cover an elective, non-essential surgery just to be nice.

Also, insurance companies don't lose money when people have children, it's just an extra customer for them. I'm not saying that they're encouraging people to have children but they will only make a loss on covering vasectomies, there is no benefit for them.

As for hospitals, I don't know about you but here our health system is already in the shitter and, again, it's an elective and non-essential surgery. I can't imagine that it's high on their priority list.

 

[Saltyk]

As others have said, it's an unnecessary and elective surgery. Your insurance wouldn't cover plastic surgery, either.

Now, if there was a reason you needed it, that might be a different story. My dad had one years ago because the doctor said my mother really couldn't get pregnant again or it would be detrimental to her health. And the best way to do that was a vasectomy. I'm not sure if this was covered or not. I could really see that going either way.

Likewise, I'm not sure if plastic surgery would be covered if you were scarred by some sort of accident or not.

 

[Paragon Fury]

^ I think its especially silly they don't include it for women.

Simple, cheap outpatient surgery that saves them potentially a hundred thousand dollars or so.......or not saving that large chunk of change.

 

[CymbaIine]

I find this really odd. In the UK (NHS) vasectomies are available pretty much on demand - after you have had a chat with your GP about your reasons. You have to jump through more hoops for a reversal on the NHS.

Non-reconstructive cosmetic surgery on the NHS isn't easy to get, it is possible but has to go via a mental health pathway.

I think this is about right, I don't think you can compare family planning to cosmetic surgery and I am really shocked people would.

 

[Malconvoker]

I completely agree. I personally can't have children, but it helps to have my...um... monthlies regulated? I found a very easy way to do this, but my insurance wouldn't cover it. And my doctor also didn't want to do it because I might "change my mind" about having children any day.

As if I might change my mind one morning, despite having the same thought for 20 years, plus being infertile. And my husband being infertile. So you know... it really comes down to the US medical system (in my experience) being incredibly organized and outdated.

Wait, so your doctor didn't want to perform the surgery because you might change your mind, but you can't have children. Did the doctor know you were infertile? That seems like something that would be at least a note on a medical chart or something(I don't know how medical stuff works). Anyway, why would someone be unwilling to perform a surgery on someone who has nothing to lose from it? The only reason I can think of is some other medical condition, like a bad reaction to some medicine used in the procedure.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Though sad, since its not a cheap deal and thus makes it hard to get.

I completely agree.

I'd LIKE to be equally outraged that I can't get my tubes tied for free once I finish having kids, but that IS invasive, expensive, and thus even less likely to be covered.

Fun Fact: I used to live in a state that required insurance companies to cover birth control pills. Then I moved.

On the plus side, I learned that I am much happier off the pill. It doesn't agree with me at all. Downside is I have to rely on condoms for birth control when relevant.

 

[f1r2a3n4k5]

I completely agree. I personally can't have children, but it helps to have my...um... monthlies regulated? I found a very easy way to do this, but my insurance wouldn't cover it. And my doctor also didn't want to do it because I might "change my mind" about having children any day.

As if I might change my mind one morning, despite having the same thought for 20 years, plus being infertile. And my husband being infertile. So you know... it really comes down to the US medical system (in my experience) being incredibly organized and outdated.

Wait, so your doctor didn't want to perform the surgery because you might change your mind, but you can't have children. Did the doctor know you were infertile? That seems like something that would be at least a note on a medical chart or something(I don't know how medical stuff works). Anyway, why would someone be unwilling to perform a surgery on someone who has nothing to lose from it? The only reason I can think of is some other medical condition, like a bad reaction to some medicine used in the procedure.

Oh yes, she knew it. She's the one that diagnosed me. But you know, I might one day have a miracle baby. One, mind you, that I only had 1 in a million of having on my own, and adding in my husbands issues, it became 10 million, and on top of that, one I didn't want to have. My husband and I had already decided to adopt.

But that goes into an entirely new sort of discussion, one on women's rights, and some of the more subtle things that you don't think about when people are fighting for them. It's a long, and quite frankly frustrating, discussion, but I was denied the procedure 4 times until I came to the UK and then I was given it within 2 months of coming here. It took 2 months because it took a little while to get the tests done to make sure that I needed it and not a less invasive procedure that the US didn't even offer.

Well, it really depends. The alternate way of looking at it was that if it wasn't being used as a birth control, the doc might have considered it an unnecessary risk. Every surgery carries a risk.

This women's health article: http://womenshealth.about.com/od/sterilizationfaqs/f/tubalsafe.htm Suggests complications occur in 1-3% of the population.

The pelvis is a substantially more complex region than most people would imagine. There's all sorts of arteries, nerves, veins, ligaments, and the ureters to watch out for.

Vasectomy is actually a much easier and cheaper procedure just by anatomical facts. However, I'm not exceedingly surprised it wasn't covered for birth control reasons given the insurance system.

 

[Verlander]

I find this really odd. In the UK (NHS) vasectomies are available pretty much on demand - after you have had a chat with your GP about your reasons. You have to jump through more hoops for a reversal on the NHS.

Non-reconstructive cosmetic surgery on the NHS isn't easy to get, it is possible but has to go via a mental health pathway.

I think this is about right, I don't think you can compare family planning to cosmetic surgery and I am really shocked people would.

Seconded. It's unsurprising in the US that vasectomies aren't a priority, it's a far more conservative place and then there have been rulings like the Hobby Lobby case