On Feb. 1, Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators' policy changed to cover contraceptives when it previously did not. DMBA is the insurance company that covers all employees of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and students at Church Education System schools, including BYU–Hawaii.
Oral contraception, contraceptive patches, vaginal rings, intrauterine devices and injectable contraceptives will now be covered by DMBA without preauthorization as long as appointments go through student health centers at the CES schools. Emergency contraception and surgical sterilization will not be covered, states DMBA.
The impact of the change
“I started contraception a year ago for health reasons,” said Ronnie Pushnam, a junior from Malaysia studying psychology. Coming to BYUH has been helpful for her health, said Pushnam. “In Malaysia, I couldn't get diagnosed because I’d have to go to the hospital and my parents couldn’t afford it.” In 2021, she was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome because of the DMBA insurance she had as a student, she said.
“I knew something was wrong when I didn’t have my period for two years,” said Pushnam. “It was really hard to go about my daily life. I would gain a lot of weight, be tired all the time and have other problems. Starting on birth control helped me live a normal life.” Even Though the medication was life changing, the $20 a month was a lot for her to pay, she said. Now with the policy change she is able to get medication for three months for $16.
Amanda Ballash, a young mother of two from Utah, said she is ecstatic about the change. Because her step-father is a professor at BYU in Provo, she is covered by DMBA. “[My husband] and I want a family,” she said. “He came from a family of eight and I came from a family of six. I would love to have five or six kids, [but] we just can’t handle them all at once. I want to grow my family on my own terms.”
As a starving college student, she said, she always used the cheapest form of birth control she could find. Because she wasn’t able to work with a doctor on the dosage, it was a bad experience for her, she said. “DMBA has never once paid for my birth control and that has been very frustrating.”
Birth control and how it works
Physical intimacy is ordained of God for both the creation of children and as an expression of love, writes the Church Handbook. Concerning birth control, the Handbook states, “The decision about how many children to have and when to have them is extremely personal and private. It should be left between the couple and the Lord. Church members should not judge one another in this matter.”
Contraception comes in many shapes and forms. The different methods include preventing sperm from reaching the egg, damaging the sperm, preventing an egg from being released each month, altering the lining of the uterus so a fertilized egg can’t attach or thickening the cervical mucus so sperm cannot pass through, writes the Mayo Clinic.
Preventing pregnancy is not the only reason why someone may use contraception. According to the Mayo Clinic, it can be used to create more predictable and/or lighter menstrual cycles. It can also help treat acne, bone thinning, cysts in the breasts or ovaries, endometrial cancers, infections in the uterus, anemia and premenstrual syndrome, writes Planned Parenthood.
What does the Health Center have to say?
“I think the change is wonderful,” said Lena Tyau, the head nurse of the BYUH Health Center. Dr. Ember Christensen, one of the doctors at the Health Center, said sometimes students think the Health Center discourages the use of birth control, but they don’t at all. They want students to make the best decisions for their health and are there to help, they said.
Christensen said because the Health Center is a dispensary, not a pharmacy, they can purchase birth control pills in bulk and offer it to students at a cheaper rate than at the pharmacy. Before the DMBA’s policy change, it cost about $20 for a month’s worth of pills, she said. She said they prescribed birth control for polycystic ovarian syndrome, heavy and painful or irregular periods, premenstrual dysphoric disorder and endometriosis. Tyau added that some women have to be on it because they are also on Accutane, a medication for acne.
“It is a very common service we provide,” said Tyau, since they work with students, faculty, staff and their families.