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Act raises price of birth control for college health care providers
By Kaylor Garcia on 4/2/07
Colleges nationwide are paying higher prices for birth control, specifically oral contraceptives, after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services decided to impose the regulations of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 onto birth control, according to a notice released by the American College Health Association.
The prices of birth control at AU's Student Health Center will stay the same for the rest of the semester, according to Dan Bruey, director of AU's Student Health Center.
An insurance representative from Aetna, AU's insurance provider, said for a 28-day pack of birth control, students co-pay $20 under the school's plan.
For the remainder of the semester, the Health Center will absorb the extra costs imposed by the law and will maintain current prices for students. Bruey said that over the summer, the Health Center will re-evaluate its methods and come to a decision about how best to meet the needs of students requesting birth control.
The new regulations affect brand name oral contraceptives including Cyclessa, Desogen and NuvoRing, which are all offered by AU. The Health Center has felt the effects of the rising prices, which have doubled and tripled in recent months. Bruey said the Health Center is trying to act as a buffer between the new laws and students.
"Our contracts with our suppliers have increased dramatically in the past month, but we haven't passed those costs onto students," Bruey said. "We want to have the lowest costs possible."
Other universities in the area have been affected in various ways. According to a nurse at the Catholic University of America Health Center, they do not dispense birth control unless it is needed to fix a medical problem. George Mason University, on the other hand, said it felt a greater effect on its Health Center.
"We switched to generic birth control pills," Dr. Abdalla of the George Mason Health Center, said. "The students weren't happy with that, but that was the only way we could offer them cheap birth control."
The prices of birth control at AU's Student Health Center will stay the same for the rest of the semester, according to Dan Bruey, director of AU's Student Health Center.
An insurance representative from Aetna, AU's insurance provider, said for a 28-day pack of birth control, students co-pay $20 under the school's plan.
For the remainder of the semester, the Health Center will absorb the extra costs imposed by the law and will maintain current prices for students. Bruey said that over the summer, the Health Center will re-evaluate its methods and come to a decision about how best to meet the needs of students requesting birth control.
The new regulations affect brand name oral contraceptives including Cyclessa, Desogen and NuvoRing, which are all offered by AU. The Health Center has felt the effects of the rising prices, which have doubled and tripled in recent months. Bruey said the Health Center is trying to act as a buffer between the new laws and students.
"Our contracts with our suppliers have increased dramatically in the past month, but we haven't passed those costs onto students," Bruey said. "We want to have the lowest costs possible."
Other universities in the area have been affected in various ways. According to a nurse at the Catholic University of America Health Center, they do not dispense birth control unless it is needed to fix a medical problem. George Mason University, on the other hand, said it felt a greater effect on its Health Center.
"We switched to generic birth control pills," Dr. Abdalla of the George Mason Health Center, said. "The students weren't happy with that, but that was the only way we could offer them cheap birth control."
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