Birth Control Relief for Low-Income, College Women
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The article below which we spied on RH Reality Check gives a college woman’s perspective on the increase
in costs for contraceptives on college campuses that occurred as a result of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.
As the article states, the costs of contraceptives increased dramatically to college health departments as well as to safety-net providers (contraceptive providers for low-income women). The affordability problems women encountered made for hard choices for them…do I buy gas for the car to get to work or school or do I pay for my now-much-more- expensive birth control?
BelowtheWaist featured two podcasts in 2008 addressing this issue: Congresswoman Gwen Moore from Wisconsin and Diane Zanto of the University of Wisconsin- Oshkosh have both identified the hardships this provision caused for Wisconsin women.
Many advocates have worked hard to have this provision reversed. At long last it appears this unhelpful provision is on its way out.
Birth Control Relief for Low-Income, College Women
By Nonie Wainwright
The 2009 omnibus appropriations bill has a little-noticed provision that will have a huge impact on college women. It’s called the “affordable birth control fix,” and is aimed at restoring access to affordable birth control for nearly four million college students and low-income women!
In 2005, Congress passed the Deficit Reduction Act, which tightened regulations about who was eligible for nominally priced drugs. In doing so, Congress inadvertently cut off every single college and university health center and other safety-net providers from obtaining birth control at a low cost, and passing on those savings to their patients. Women like me are now paying up to 10 times more each month for basic birth control.
Birth control is not just about preventing pregnancy it serves many purposes in women’s lives; my doctor prescribed birth control because it has helped me regulate my cycle.
As a competitive swimmer, birth control played a vital role in ensuring I could compete to the best of my ability year round – like my male counterparts. In fact, my early swimming success led me to the University of Nevada, Reno, on scholarship where my swim team won two consecutive conference championships.
Access to affordable birth control helped me take control of my future and achieve my dreams as an athlete.
In 2006, my birth control prescription more than tripled, going from $15 a month to $50. As a student athlete on scholarship, I was unable to work, was living on a small budget – as most college students do, and birth control was increasingly difficult to afford. I recall having to decide between paying for groceries or for birth control – decisions no male athlete would ever have to make.
I am not alone. In college, all my friends took birth control for a number of reasons. It is estimated that this provision has adversely affected three million college students and hundreds of thousands of low-income women who take oral contraception. The decision to use birth control allows women to plan for their education, career, and family on their own terms.
Last summer, I was fortunate to be invited by Planned Parenthood to travel to Washington, DC, to talk with Sen. Harry Reid, my senator from Nevada, about affordable birth control. It was a little intimidating to talk to a U.S. senator about birth control, but Sen. Reid was great. He understood the issue immediately and saw the common sense in making prevention services like birth control affordable, especially to college women who don’t have a lot of money.
The U.S. has the highest rate of teen pregnancy among the most developed countries of the world. If our nation is serious about reducing the unacceptably high rate of unintended pregnancies, Congress needs to fix an unintended loophole, which is keeping affordable contraception out of reach for millions of American women.
That’s why I’m excited that – with leadership from Sen. Reid – this common sense provision is about to pass.
