By Carolyn Maloney
It may sound absurd, but the Deficit Reduction Act that Congress passed back in 2005 is now causing birth control prices to spike at New York University’s Student Health Center and other college and free clinics throughout the country. College and low-income women are being forced to bear the brunt of this unfair price hike.
N.Y.U. officials report that birth control prescription prices at its campus clinic have risen from $5 to $15 per month to as much as $45, depending on a student’s insurance co-payment. That’s a steep increase for college women juggling tuition bills, or for working women struggling to make ends meet with a minimum wage job.
For decades, college health centers and free clinics have helped cash-strapped women access affordable birth control. Through agreements with pharmaceutical companies, most campus clinics were designated as “safety net providers” that were able to distribute brand-name prescription contraceptives for just a few dollars a month.
It’s particularly important that college women have access to affordable contraception. Two-thirds of college students reported having at least one sexual partner in the prior 12 months, according to a 2006 survey of more than 23,000 students by the American College Health Association. About 40 percent of sexually active college women reported relying on pills and other prescription forms of birth control, according to the college association.
The plain truth is that women are more likely to use contraceptives responsibly if they can get what they need cheaply and conveniently. If we make it difficult for young women to get contraceptives, they might stop using them at all. Or, they may turn to cheaper, less effective birth control methods. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a spike in the number of unwanted pregnancies and abortions as a result of this unfair price hike.
So, how exactly did this happen? The Congressional act altered how drug makers calculate rebates to safety net health providers. The federal government helps to underwrite some of these rebates in order to improve access to prescription drugs for people on low or fixed incomes. The new law, however, made it costly for pharmaceutical companies to continue offering safety net providers such deep discounts on birth control and a number of other prescription drugs.
In some cases, private insurance will cover this cost increase of birth control. But many young women are on their parents’ insurance plans and don’t want to involve their moms and dads in such a private health matter. And, unfortunately, a lot of hardworking women who are struggling to make ends meet count themselves among the 47 million Americans without health insurance.
I am working with my pro-choice colleagues in Congress to close this ridiculous loophole and bring down the cost of prescription birth control at college health centers and free clinics. Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt could close this loophole easily and restore access to affordable birth control for millions of women. Last week, Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) and I wrote a letter urging Secretary Leavitt to do just that. Congressman Joseph Crowley (D-NY) is also working on legislation that would bring costs down.
In November 2006, Americans put the House and Senate back into pro-choice hands for the first time in 12 years. Anti-choice politicians used these years to attack reproductive freedom at every opportunity. By stark contrast, in just its first 100 days, the 110th Congress has blocked legislative assaults on reproductive freedom and made early first steps toward a more positive agenda that emphasizes common sense solutions over divisive politics. We will continue working hard to repair the mistakes of the past and ensure that women’s reproductive rights are protected in the future.
U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney represents New York’s 14th Congressional District, which includes parts of the East Village and the Lower East Side.
