A newly proposed bill could reduce the cost of birth control on the campus, reversing the effects of an act passed in 2005 that led to a quintupling of the prices of some popular methods.
The Prevention Through Affordable Access Act, proposed Nov. 1, would once again allow pharmaceutical companies to sell birth control to college clinics and other ‘safety-net’ providers such as Planned Parenthood at a reduced price. After the act, which prohibited this practice, was implemented on the campus this semester, prices of birth control skyrocketed.
Students say they are excited about the prospect of once again receiving birth control at reduced rates.
“I think that it’s important that all people who want to have access to prevention should,” said co-president of Terps for Choice Audrey Gottheimer. “I’m obviously co-president of a pro-choice organization so we deal with a lot of controversy. It’s so nice to have something everyone could agree on.”
Prior to the act, pharmaceutical companies provided birth control at subsidized rates as part of a voluntary program through which they gained free publicity for their products. Members of Congress banned this practice because they believed drug companies were abusing this privilege and creating more debt, according to Rohit Mahajan, spokesman for Rep. Joseph Crowley.
Because of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, Ortho Tri-Cyclin Lo, the most popular brand of birth control on this campus, jumped from $10 to $55. The price jump was a result of what officials call “an oversight” in the policy.
On Nov. 1, Crowley (D-N.Y.) authored a bill to increase affordability of these products. While he said there is no set timetable for the bill, he hopes it will come to vote sometime this year and go into effect immediately. He said it is expected to meet little opposition.
“A bureaucratic mistake should not stand in the way of protecting the health and safety of hard-working women,” Crowley said in a conference call on Nov. 1. “My colleagues, who are interested in effectively preventing unintended pregnancies, ought to support this measure and join us in urging its immediate passage.”
Officials at the University Health Center did not return phone calls for comment yesterday.
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