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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
The oral contraception Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo costs $60 at the Syracuse University Health Center.
The same form of birth control runs for $51.99 at the local Walgreens in Camillus.
Nina Page, a junior at SU, pays $30 with insurance through Walgreens for her monthly supply. Page considers the amount she pays to be "way too expensive."
An uninsured SU student would pay double that price at the health center.
College campus health centers are no longer a resource for affordable oral contraceptives, but with a recent bill introduced in both houses of Congress, things may go back to normal.
In early November, Congressman Joseph Crowley, a Democrat from New York's seventh district, introduced the Prevention Through Affordable Access Act on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The newly introduced legislation is pending a vote, but if passed, it will restore discounted prices to college campuses and low-income centers. Advocates across campuses nationwide are currently working toward passing the bill.
During the past year at the SU Health Center, there has been an increase in prices of brand-name oral contraceptives, although the generic contraceptives are still reasonably priced, said Connie Barker, supervising pharmacist for the university.
The ability for clinics to sell birth control pills at lower prices benefited college students "who do not necessarily have a lot of money and low-income women who obviously do not have a lot of money," said Kate Nielson, a primary organizer for the Feminist Majority Foundation.
The decrease in prices would not solely benefit students. It would be beneficial for drug manufacturers to have contracts with the health center, Barker said. If a student tries a brand name and is satisfied with the product, she may use it for life. This will not happen if the price makes her choose an alternative or generic brand, she said.
Some campus health centers have discontinued providing birth control because of the increase in prices, according to a survey of campus health centers by the Feminist Majority Foundation.
The same form of birth control runs for $51.99 at the local Walgreens in Camillus.
Nina Page, a junior at SU, pays $30 with insurance through Walgreens for her monthly supply. Page considers the amount she pays to be "way too expensive."
An uninsured SU student would pay double that price at the health center.
College campus health centers are no longer a resource for affordable oral contraceptives, but with a recent bill introduced in both houses of Congress, things may go back to normal.
In early November, Congressman Joseph Crowley, a Democrat from New York's seventh district, introduced the Prevention Through Affordable Access Act on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The newly introduced legislation is pending a vote, but if passed, it will restore discounted prices to college campuses and low-income centers. Advocates across campuses nationwide are currently working toward passing the bill.
During the past year at the SU Health Center, there has been an increase in prices of brand-name oral contraceptives, although the generic contraceptives are still reasonably priced, said Connie Barker, supervising pharmacist for the university.
The ability for clinics to sell birth control pills at lower prices benefited college students "who do not necessarily have a lot of money and low-income women who obviously do not have a lot of money," said Kate Nielson, a primary organizer for the Feminist Majority Foundation.
The decrease in prices would not solely benefit students. It would be beneficial for drug manufacturers to have contracts with the health center, Barker said. If a student tries a brand name and is satisfied with the product, she may use it for life. This will not happen if the price makes her choose an alternative or generic brand, she said.
Some campus health centers have discontinued providing birth control because of the increase in prices, according to a survey of campus health centers by the Feminist Majority Foundation.
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