I’m at 26-year-old with a solid health insurance plan, but getting the implant was still a giant pain in the ass.
Jenny Chang for BuzzFeed
1. Decide I'm sick of having to remember to take the pill, and want to switch to a more permanent form of birth control that I don't have to worry about every day.
2. Quickly determine that either the IUD or the birth control implant are my best options.
3. Go to the Planned Parenthood website and compare both.
4. Talk to a friend who said getting the IUD inserted was incredibly painful for her, and get kind of scared about getting it, even though I know it's a great option for many women.
5. Discover this New York Times article, which shows the implant is a damn-near foolproof method of birth control (although it does not protect against STDs).
6. Begin leaning toward the implant.
7. Talk to a co-worker who got the implant a few months ago, and become convinced that because of its effectiveness, how easy it is to insert and remove, and the fact that it has hormones, it's the best birth control option for me and my lifestyle.
8. Call my current gynecologist to book an appointment to get Nexplanon implanted.
9. Be told my doctor doesn't do that.
10. Go to the Nexplanon website and search for doctors in my zip code who do the implant.
11. Call the first doctor on the list.
12. Get told that she is a specialist and I would have to be referred by another doctor in order to see her.
13. Call the second doctor on the list.
14. Get told basically the same thing.
15. Feel like giving up.
16. Decide to call Planned Parenthood.
17. Talk to a Planned Parenthood employee who asks if I have an HMO or PPO.
18. Tell her I have PPO.
19. Get told that if I had an HMO, I could get a referral from my doctor, but since I have a PPO, my insurance doesn't cover procedures done at Planned Parenthood.
20. Get asked by the woman on the phone what my monthly income is, so she can determine how much it would cost to get the Nexplanon implant without using my insurance. (She also asks me if I have children, and if I'm married — both of which I answer no to.)
21. Tell the woman on the phone my monthly income.
22. Find out that at my income level, if I got the Nexplanon impant from Planned Parenthood, it would cost between $1,000-$1,200.
23. Think very seriously about giving up again.
24. Go back to the Nexplanon website, for what feels like the hundredth time, to look for more doctors who will do the procedure.
25. Find a local women's health clinic that does the procedure.
26. Call the clinic to ask if they take my health insurance.
27. Find out they do and have a mini-dance party on the sidewalk outside my office, where I'm making the call.
28. Book an appointment for Wednesday at 10 a.m.
29. Call my health insurance just to double check everything is good to go, since at this point, I feel like the universe is against me.
30. Get told that my insurance doesn't cover any form of birth control implant.
