A federal law enacted at the beginning of this year was intended to curb Medicaid fraud, but the legislation is having an impact on an unlikely group of people ‘ college students paying for birth control.
The price of birth control distributed on college campuses across the country has more than doubled in recent months as an unintentional side effect of a federal law, the Deficit Reduction Act.
The legislation set stricter limits on which facilities will be exempt from rebates that must be paid by drug manufacturers.
However, university health centers and clinics for low-income families were, according to lawmakers, unintentionally left off the list.
Though this change has affected hundreds of colleges and universities across the nation, Ryan Yarosh, a Binghamton University spokesperson, said that policies on contraception at Binghamton University Health Services will not be changed because the University does not buy or sell birth control.
‘If someone requests birth control pills, they will be provided with samples and then a prescription,’ Yarosh explained.
According to Health Services’ Web site, samples of birth control are provided to students for the first two to three months, with prescriptions available after a three-month checkup. Diaphragm measurements are also made on campus and the Depo-Provera injection is available for students at no cost for the initial shot and $40 each time thereafter.
While the dramatic price increase may not affect BU students directly, it is a problem that many students of other universities and low-income women must face.
Marisol Maddox, a junior environmental science major spending the year studying at the University of Montana, a campus that was greatly affected by the price change, said that she was shocked when her friends told her how much it now cost to purchase birth control through the university.
‘I don’t know if everyone will still be able to afford it [birth control],’ Maddox said. ‘The price has risen to over $50 for certain types and it’s ridiculous.’
‘Something that we obviously can’t afford every month,’ she added.
The cost of a NuvaRing, a type of birth control that is growing in popularity, is reported to have risen from $18 to $36 at the University of Montana.
‘College students who used to pay maybe $5 to $10 now pay $40 to $50 because that’s what it costs for the universities now,’ Debra Marcus, chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of South Central New York explained.
Marcus emphasized the importance of affordable contraception to the public, noting that she has heard concerns from students about the sudden rise in price.
‘There’s the Prevention Through Affordable Action Act in Congress now,’ Marcus said, adding that both Senators Spitzer and Clinton are co-sponsors of the proposal. ‘What it will do is restore affordable birth control and plug the hole that the Deficit Reduction Act made.’
‘Hopefully, if Congress passes it and Bush signs the act, then this problem will be remedied,’ Marcus added.