MU Students might not see birth control discount
Published Dec. 7, 2007
Two similar bills in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate would restore a discount to student health centers by adding them to the list of providers that could obtain and sell birth control prescriptions at reduced rates.
But MU students might not see the discount, University Hospital and Clinics officials said.
The Prevention Through Affordable Access Act was introduced to the Senate on Nov. 13 by Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. There are 26 cosponsors on the bill, including Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.
It aims to fix an oversight in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 that excluded student health centers from the list of providers with access to the reduced prices, McCaskill spokeswoman Maria Speiser said.
Related legislation was introduced to the House on Nov. 1 by Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y. Missouri Representatives Russ Carnahan, William Clay and Emanuel Cleaver, all Democrats, are among the bill's 135 cosponsors.
Planned Parenthood, a family planning clinic that offers reproductive health services, is working to provide assistance on this legislation, said Michelle Trupiano, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri.
"College students don't have a lot of money, and if it comes down to eating or birth control, there's a high risk of unintended pregnancy," Trupiano said.
The prices for birth control at MU range from $18 to $55. According to University Hospital and Clinics spokesman Jeff Hoelscher, these prices are likely to stay the same.
In 1990, in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, Congress made revisions to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services by including Medicaid's nominal price exemption.
With the NPE, drug manufacturers who sold their products at less than 10 percent of the average price to charitable organizations and other safety net providers were rewarded by not having to pay increases in Medicaid rebates to the states.
This act originally allowed university health centers and pharmacies to purchase and sell birth control at a reduced cost.
Missouri State University's Taylor Health and Wellness Center pharmacy sold brand name prescriptions for less than $12, Senior Technician Jennifer Weter said.
Congress made provisions to the act when they passed the Deficit Reduction Act. The provisions, enacted in January, created a new list of safety net providers who were eligible for the nominal price.
University health centers were excluded, causing the price of birth control to increase in student health centers.
Today, Weter said, the price of birth control at her pharmacy ranges from $14 to $65.
The cost of birth control at many universities increased by $50 overall, Trupiano said.
The price of birth control at MU's pharmacy was not affected by the new legislation because the pharmacy never sold the drugs at the reduced rate originally, Hoelscher said in an Aug. 24 Maneater report.
The pharmacy is not directly affiliated with the Student Health Center. The pharmacy is open to students, faculty, staff and patients.
The pharmacy was able to purchase birth control at a nominal price, but other factors prevented the pharmacy from providing similar prices that were found at other university health centers that work strictly with students, said Steve Calloway, University Hospital pharmacy services manager.
"When prescriptions are dispensed from a pharmacy, there are specific requirements for dispensing, including labeling," Calloway said.
The university does not plan to provide a pharmacy strictly for students, Student Health Center Director Susan Even said.
Planned Parenthood sells birth control for half the price of MU's pharmacy. Their prices work on a sliding scale from free to the $25, depending on the patient's income. The center is open to students of all income levels.
Planned Parenthood is still able to buy at the nominal price, but will be ineligible by the year's end if the new legislation does not pass, Trupiano said.