Spring Break
The Daily OrangeTaking control
Potential law will reverse cost increase for college students' contraceptives
By Sandra Plasse
Posted: 11/30/07, 12:57 AM EST Section: News
Contraceptives are still available on the SU campus. In order to obtain a prescription for birth control, a student can contact the Gynecological Department for an exam and the doctor will determine the best method of birth control for the student, Barker said.
Barker said she has not noticed a decrease in students obtaining birth control from the health center, though the price increase may lead to women not paying for birth control if they cannot afford it due to other financial obligations such as groceries and heating or electric bills, she said.
The increase was a by-product of The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 that removed the incentive for drug companies to continue contracts with campus health centers. SU lost contracts with popular brand name birth control companies including Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo, Barker said.
The act went into effect in January 2007. And in a matter of months, the average price of brand-name birth control on college campuses has increased from between $5 to $10 to $40 to $50, according to the American College Health Association (ACHA).
A 2006 survey conducted by the ACHA found that 39 percent of undergraduate women use oral contraceptives.
In advance of the bill, the SU Health Center is pursuing a restoration to lower prices for brand-name contraceptives, Barker said. The center is currently working with the ACHA, which is why Barker said they would not consider collecting signatures for a petition in support of Crowley's bill. Currently, 205 college campuses are actively campaigning for the government to approve the law.
The petitions are being circulated by the Birth Control Access Campaign, while the Feminist Majority Foundation runs the campaign. The foundation has been fighting the cause since the legislation was first enacted in 2005.
In the past three to four months, there has been an increase in activism for the cause of returning to the prices of the adjusted era. Campuses and low-income area clinics ran out of the stock they acquired at a lower price during the beginning of 2007 and had to purchase higher-priced birth control - with the women paying the increase.
Barker said she has not noticed a decrease in students obtaining birth control from the health center, though the price increase may lead to women not paying for birth control if they cannot afford it due to other financial obligations such as groceries and heating or electric bills, she said.
The increase was a by-product of The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 that removed the incentive for drug companies to continue contracts with campus health centers. SU lost contracts with popular brand name birth control companies including Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo, Barker said.
The act went into effect in January 2007. And in a matter of months, the average price of brand-name birth control on college campuses has increased from between $5 to $10 to $40 to $50, according to the American College Health Association (ACHA).
A 2006 survey conducted by the ACHA found that 39 percent of undergraduate women use oral contraceptives.
In advance of the bill, the SU Health Center is pursuing a restoration to lower prices for brand-name contraceptives, Barker said. The center is currently working with the ACHA, which is why Barker said they would not consider collecting signatures for a petition in support of Crowley's bill. Currently, 205 college campuses are actively campaigning for the government to approve the law.
The petitions are being circulated by the Birth Control Access Campaign, while the Feminist Majority Foundation runs the campaign. The foundation has been fighting the cause since the legislation was first enacted in 2005.
In the past three to four months, there has been an increase in activism for the cause of returning to the prices of the adjusted era. Campuses and low-income area clinics ran out of the stock they acquired at a lower price during the beginning of 2007 and had to purchase higher-priced birth control - with the women paying the increase.
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