Contraception
Volume 79, Issue 1 , Pages 5-14, January 2009

Cost effectiveness of contraceptives in the United States☆

  • James Trussell

      Affiliations

    • Office of Population Research, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
    • The Hull York Medical School, University of Hull, HU6 7RX Hull, UK
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Office of Population Research, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA. Tel.: +1 609 333 6964; fax: +1 609 258 1039.
    • ,
  • Anjana M. Lalla

      Affiliations

    • Cerner LifeSciences, 9100 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 655E, Beverly Hills, CA 90212, USA
    • ,
  • Quan V. Doan

      Affiliations

    • Cerner LifeSciences, 9100 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 655E, Beverly Hills, CA 90212, USA
    • ,
  • Eileen Reyes

      Affiliations

    • Cerner LifeSciences, 9100 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 655E, Beverly Hills, CA 90212, USA
    • ,
  • Lionel Pinto

      Affiliations

    • Cerner LifeSciences, 9100 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 655E, Beverly Hills, CA 90212, USA
    • ,
  • Joseph Gricar

      Affiliations

    • Independent HealthCare Consultant, New York, NY 10002, USA

Received 29 July 2008; received in revised form 16 August 2008; accepted 18 August 2008. published online 26 September 2008.

Abstract 

Background

The study was conducted to estimate the relative cost effectiveness of contraceptives in the United States from a payer's perspective.

Methods

A Markov model was constructed to simulate costs for 16 contraceptive methods and no method over a 5-year period. Failure rates, adverse event rates and resource utilization were derived from the literature. Sensitivity analyses were performed on costs and failure rates.

Results

Any contraceptive method is superior to “no method”. The three least expensive methods were the copper-T intrauterine device (IUD) (US$647), vasectomy (US$713) and levonorgestrel (LNG)-20 intrauterine system (IUS) (US$930). Results were sensitive to the cost of contraceptive methods, the cost of an unintended pregnancy and plan disenrollment rates.

Conclusion

The copper-T IUD, vasectomy and the LNG-20 IUS are the most cost-effective contraceptive methods available in the United States. Differences in method costs, the cost of an unintended pregnancy and time horizon are influential factors that determine the overall value of a contraceptive method.

Keywords: Contraception, Contraceptive devices, Cost effectiveness, Economic modeling

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☆ This study was supported by a research grant from Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Wayne, NJ, USA.

PII: S0010-7824(08)00410-1

doi:10.1016/j.contraception.2008.08.003

Refers to erratum:

  • Erratum to “Cost effectiveness of contraceptives in the United States” [Contraception 79 (2009) 5–14] , 22 June 2009

    James Trussell, Anjana M. Lalla, Quan V. Doan, Eileen Reyes, Lionel Pinto, Joseph Gricar
    Contraception August 2009 (Vol. 80, Issue 2, Pages 229-230)

Contraception
Volume 79, Issue 1 , Pages 5-14, January 2009

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