Birth control costs rise on campus

Many worry price hike will lead to students not using protection

Many college students will be paying more for birth control this year after a new federal law wiped out incentives for drug companies to offer deep discounts to campus health centers.

Health professionals at the University of South Carolina in Columbia and Clemson University say losing the discounts means student health centers will have to charge more for some birth control pills, the NuvaRing and the Ortho Evra birth control patch. The centers also will offer students the option of switching from newer, name-brand birth control pills, which are more expensive, to lower-cost, generic pills.

Jane Reno-Munro, director of student health services at the College of Charleston, said the college's health center doesn't have a pharmacy, so the school never offered the discounted contraceptives.

"It's extremely important for students to get quality medication at a reduced cost," Clemson nurse practitioner Annette Whelchel said. "If birth control gets really expensive for them, they probably won't use it."

Most students don't have a lot of money, she said, so it's tough to afford contraceptives. Even students who have prescription coverage under their parents' health insurance plans are reluctant to take advantage of it because they don't want to tell their parents they're on birth control, she said.

Eric Spotts, a physician for USC's student health services, said university students last year paid $12 for a month's worth of contraception. This fall, name-brand pills will cost about $40 for a pack, he said.

The increased costs could mean some women might stop using birth control, he said. If that happened, the university could see an increase in unintended pregnancies, he said.

The university will be able to provide generic birth control pills for $24 per pack, he said.

Generic contraceptives are effective, Spotts said, but many women don't want to switch from newer brands that might have fewer side effects.

Whelchel said Clemson will be able to offer students generic birth control pills for $16 a month.

Spotts said it's especially important for college health centers to offer reasonably priced contraceptives because about 35 percent of female college

students take birth control pills or use the NuvaRing or the Ortho Evra birth control patch.

Debbie Beck, USC's director of student health services, said the incentives were cut in the federal Deficit Reduction Act.

Colleges and universities learned in December that they wouldn't receive the discounted contraceptives after January 2007, she said. USC stocked up on the medications and had enough to continue offering students the reduced cost through the spring, she said.

The American College Health Association is pushing for an amendment to the act that would enable college health centers to continue to get the discounts, Beck said.

University attorneys also are scouring the legislation for an exemption, she said.

The university's health services previously made "a little bit of money" dispensing birth control, she said. It used that money to reduce the cost of other health services, she said.

"We'll likely have to increase the cost of other services to make up for the financial hit," Beck said.

Reach Diane Knich at 937-5491 or dknich@postandcourier.com.