Posted on 03/23/2007 6:25:22 AM PDT by Abathar
Medicaid Changes Mean No More Discounts
Millions of college students are suddenly facing sharply higher prices for birth control, prompting concerns among health officials that some will shift to less preferred contraceptives or stop using them altogether.
Prices for oral contraceptives are doubling and tripling at student health centers, the result of a complex change in the Medicaid rebate law that essentially ends an incentive for drug companies to provide deep discounts to colleges.
"It's a tremendous problem for our students because not every student has a platinum card," said Hugh Jessop, executive director of the health center at Indiana University.
There, he said, women are paying about $22 per month for prescriptions that cost $10 a few months ago.
"Some of our students have two jobs, have children," Jessop said. "To increase this by 100 percent or more overnight, which is what happened, is a huge shock to them and to their system."
At some schools women could see prices rise several hundred dollars per year.
About 39 percent of undergraduate women use oral contraceptives, according to an estimate by the American College Health Association based on survey data.
Many students could shift to generics but experts said they might still pay twice the previous rate.
"It's terrible, because these are students who are working very hard to pay for their tuition and books at a time when tuition costs are edging up as well," said Linda Lekawski, director of the university health center at Texas A&M, where the old price for birth control pills of about $15 per month is expected to triple. "This is one thing they've been able to benefit from for years."
The change is the result of a chain reaction started by a 2005 deficit-reduction bill that focused on Medicaid, the main federal health insurance program for the poor. College health officials say they had little idea the bill would affect them.
Before the change, pharmaceutical companies typically sold drugs at deep discounts to a range of health care providers, including colleges. With contraceptives, one motivation was attracting customers who would stay with their products for years.
Another reason the discounts made business sense was that they didn't count against the drug makers in a formula calculating rebates they owed states to participate in Medicaid.
But in its 2005 bill -- which went into effect in January -- Congress changed that. Now the discounts to colleges mean drug manufacturers have to pay more to participate in Medicaid.
The result: Fewer companies are willing to offer discounts.
Many colleges kept prices low for a few months by buying in bulk before the new law took effect, but have now run through their stockpile and started increasing prices. Also, many students fill the prescriptions quarterly so are only now seeing the increase.
Some students said they doubted the price increases would dissuade many students from buying contraceptives, but said it would be noticed.
"I feel like if an individual's going to seek it, they're going to seek it and try to find the resources for it," said Betsy Henke, student body president at Indiana University. But, she added: "Anything that is an increase in what a student is paying is going to have some type of impact."
The price hikes will "definitely have an effect on students," said Lindsay Hicks, a Sexual Health Awareness Peer Educator at Kansas State University, where she said prices were rising from about $10 to about $30 per month.
The ACHA contends the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services should have added college health centers to the exemptions lists and has supported a proposed rule change that would do so. A spokesman for the agency said it is reviewing that proposal.
I once argued with a college student (moron) about something like this. I told her that college students would have to have some personal responsibility and buy condoms for themselves when MI taxpayer subsidies were removed.
She said it was personal responsibility to go to the free clinic and get free condoms. She could not understand the whole "taxpayer paying for your party" aspect at all.
I wonder how many of the idiots/POS whining about this would think nothing of spending $60 on an Abercrombie and Fitch (or whatever is in this week) t-shirt.
Guys may be willing to buy her things, even lend some cash, but financing her medical plan is not on the agenda.
Screwing them is the only item on their agenda... which, apparently, is all the girls really want.
Amen! THANK you! Couldn't have said it better myself. A little restraint, a little self-control, a little - I dunno, personal accountability for consequences?
More often than not a boyfriend is a spontaneous d-ck she met at a party or at dorm whom she will be screwing for the next few weeks or months. That's the vast majority of 'boyfriends' and 'girlfriends'.
As Bill Clinton said, "Eatin' ain't cheatin'!"
What a silly story. Keep the legs closed, save $22 a month.
I am sure they are finding $22 for beer and pot!
Wait I thought all that safe sex education meant that any college woman having sex made sure their partner wore a condom. So why the concern about the cost of oral contraceptives?
"Let me see, college tuition goes up 8% per year and we're supposed to feel bad that oral contraception goes up $12 per month."
Just what I was thinking!
The real story is that subsidies are declining. Maybe those who are funding the subsidies will be happy.
And the cheapest BC pills, as I understand, can be ordered on the Interenet from overseas.
Wonder what the cost is for treatment of the diseases they contract from sleeping around......
If they buy their condoms slightly used they can save a bundle.
LOL
first they gotta turn them inside out and shake the F out of them
Simple answer. Quite screwing around and study. Go Green!
Later MA ping list.
Notice what the damnable libs are worried about.
Libs want to encourage sexual license so as to destroy the nuclear family - one of the dogmas of communism. Libs control colleges and promote this sort of thing.
And, let's not forget, this happy nasty bumping is, for the most part, at state-funded schools. Yep, that's right, Little Suzy is getting it on with the help of your tax dollars.
If you do buy from eBay make sure you wash them at least under tap water. Also avoid buying used from porn stars. They stretch theirs like hell.
Yup. And you notice they don't mention that condoms may be a reasonable alternative depending upon the frequency of contact.
Look, I have to admit I have no sympathy for this plight. Barebacking with the boys is entirely a *LIFESTYLE* choice on the part of these girls. I do know, however, there are sometimes medically legitimate congenital conditions (and I don't mean acne) which are helped by taking oral contraceptives.
One of those jobs is probably "call girl" (/sarcasm)
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