Too Pricey to Make Love?
Proposed Bill Would Lower Contraceptive Costs
Staff Reporter Edwin Mora

College students may once again be able to buy birth control pills at a discounted price from Student Health Services.

On Nov. 1, Congressman Joseph Crowley (D-NY) unveiled the Prevention Through Affordable Access Act, which addresses the problem of expensive birth control. If it becomes law, this bi-partisan bill, already with over 100 sponsors, could reverse one of the consequences of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 that became public law in February 2006. This Deficit Reduction Act includes a provision that prevents safety net healthcare providers, such as George Mason University’s Student Health Services, from buying contraceptives from pharmaceutical companies at a discounted price.  The way that drug manufacturers calculate discounts for university clinics among other institutions who aim to help low-income individuals has changed. Before the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, the discounts were underwritten by the federal government.

“My colleagues, who are interested in effectively preventing unintended pregnancies, ought to support this measure and join us in urging its immediate passage,” Crowley said in a Nov. 1 press release. The price of birth control pills on campuses across the country has skyrocketed since the Deficit Reduction Act was put into effect. At Mason’s Student Health Services, the price of birth control pills is five times more expensive than before the Deficit Reduction Act became a law. 

“The price for a monthly supply of BCP increased from $10 to $40 to $50,” says Dr. Wagida Abdalla, the executive director of Student Health Services. Drug manufacturers stopped selling birth control at a discounted price in February 2006, but it was not until Mason’s Student Health Services ran out of the discounted inventory that they raised their prices.   

The press release emphasizes that bringing back discounted birth control to universities and colleges will not cost the tax payer any money.  “I think anybody should be able to get discounted birth control,” said sophomore  accounting major Courtney Scites. “If the school is going to sell birth control, they should make them affordable.”

Although there is no evidence yet, Dr. Abdalla believes that going back to discounted birth control would decrease the likelihood of unintended pregnancy by making contraceptives affordable to all Mason students. Students across the country have shown their displeasure with the effects the Deficit Reduction Act has had on contraceptive prices. In Iowa, more than 400 college students signed a petition protesting the provision responsible for increasing the price of birth control,  as part of a larger, nationwide effort coordinated by the Planned Parenthood of America, according to a Nov. 5 Associated Press article.

According to Dr. Abdalla, people affected the most by the price increase of birth control are, “Your typical young college females who need BCP for contraception or for treating medical problems such as menses disorders.”  The American College Health Association reports that about 40 percent of sexually active college women use pills or other forms of contraceptives. Sponsors for the Prevention Through Affordable Access Act include Congressman Jim Moran (D-Va.) of the 8th district, the only Virginia Representative who has shown support so far. 

The Planned Parenthood Federation of America is also showing their support for the act.  “I applaud Congressman Crowley for taking action and introducing the Prevention Through Affordable Access Act,” said President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Cecile Richards, in the press release. “This bill is win-win. Access to affordable birth control is something Democrats and Republicans do agree on.”