A copper IUD (Paragard) costs up to $1,300 for the device alone if you’re paying out of pocket without insurance. On top of that, the office visit for insertion typically runs $150 to $400, bringing the total to roughly $1,450 to $1,700 before any discounts. With insurance, you’ll likely pay $0.
What You’ll Pay With Insurance
Under the Affordable Care Act, marketplace health insurance plans must cover all FDA-approved contraceptive methods, including IUDs, with no copay, coinsurance, or deductible requirement when you use an in-network provider. That means the device, the insertion visit, and the removal visit should all be fully covered. This applies to most private insurance plans, though some employer-sponsored plans with religious exemptions may not comply.
If your provider is out of network, coverage rules change and you could face significant out-of-pocket costs. Always confirm that both your clinic and your prescribing provider are in-network before scheduling the appointment.
What You’ll Pay Without Insurance
Without any coverage, the costs break down into two parts: the device and the procedure. The Paragard device itself can cost up to $1,300 at full retail price. The insertion procedure adds another $150 to $400 depending on the clinic and your location. So you’re looking at a realistic range of $1,450 to $1,700 all in.
Removal carries its own fee as well. When the time comes to take it out, expect to pay $100 to $400 for that visit if you’re still uninsured.
Sliding Scale and Low-Cost Options
Title X clinics, including many Planned Parenthood locations, offer sliding scale fees based on your household size and income. At Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties, for example, the bundled price for IUD insertion with a follow-up visit ranges from $0 for the lowest income group to $766 for those with higher incomes. The Paragard device itself is listed at $577 as an add-on for cash-pay patients at that location. So even without insurance, a sliding scale clinic could bring your total well below the $1,700 full-price figure.
Costs vary by location, but the principle is consistent across Title X-funded clinics: you pay what you can afford, and no one is turned away.
Medicaid Coverage
Medicaid covers IUDs in all states, including the device, insertion, and removal. No prior authorization is required in most cases. In New York, for example, the full cost of IUD purchase, insertion, and removal is included as a covered service through Medicaid managed care plans. Even enrollees in plans that don’t cover family planning (such as certain religiously affiliated plans) can have the service billed directly to the state’s fee-for-service Medicaid program.
If you qualify for Medicaid or your state’s family planning expansion program, you should pay nothing out of pocket.
The 10-Year Cost Breakdown
Paragard is FDA-approved for up to 10 years of continuous use. That’s what makes it one of the most cost-effective birth control options available, even at full price. If you pay $1,700 out of pocket and use it for the full decade, you’re spending about $170 per year, or roughly $14 per month. Compare that to birth control pills, which can run $20 to $50 per month without insurance, adding up to $2,400 to $6,000 over 10 years.
You can also have the IUD removed earlier if your plans change. There’s no requirement to keep it for the full 10 years, though you won’t get a prorated refund on the device cost.
Follow-Up Costs to Know About
Most providers schedule one follow-up visit after insertion to check that the device is positioned correctly. This is typically included in the insertion fee at clinics that bundle their pricing, but at a private practice it may be billed as a separate office visit.
One cost that catches some people off guard: if a provider can’t locate the IUD strings during a check, they’ll order an ultrasound to confirm the device is still in place. Even with insurance, a string check is sometimes coded as a problem-based visit rather than a contraceptive service, which means it may require a copay or count toward your deductible. An in-office ultrasound is more affordable than being referred to a radiology center, so ask your provider about doing it on-site if this comes up.
How to Get the Lowest Price
Your best options for reducing the cost depend on your situation:
- Private insurance: Confirm your provider is in-network. The total cost should be $0.
- Medicaid or state family planning programs: Coverage is comprehensive with no out-of-pocket cost in most cases.
- Uninsured with low income: Visit a Title X clinic or Planned Parenthood and ask about sliding scale fees. You may qualify for free or heavily discounted care.
- Uninsured without sliding scale eligibility: Contact Biologics by McKesson (1-888-275-8596), the specialty pharmacy partner listed on Paragard’s website, to ask about self-pay pricing for the device. Then call clinics in your area to compare insertion fees.