Ryan ChartrandAs birth control prices rise at college campuses across the country, the Cal Poly Health Center is making progress toward countering those increases and providing free services and supplies to students.
A federal bill passed in 2005 changed rules for Medicaid, a health service for low-income qualifiers, so that drug manufacturers would have to pay more to participate in the program, giving them less incentive and financial power to offer discounts to college campuses. The bill went into effect in January and prices are jumping two to five times the original cost. Indiana University faced a $12 increase on pills that were just $10 a few months ago. Kansas State University has undergone a 300-percent increase per month for birth control.
Cal Poly has also faced price increases, although not as drastic.
“Prices went up some this year and we anticipate it will go up a fair amount next year,” said Martin Bragg, director of Health and Counseling Services. “That’s one of the reasons we’ve really been pushing to get that stuff done.
“These services are a big reason why lots of students come to the Health Center. As we began to see that costs would become a barrier to those services, we knew that we had to do something about it.”
To avoid increasing prices, the Health Center is in the process of applying for the Family PACT (planning, access, care and treatment) program, which “will make free family planning services and supplies available for most Cal Poly students,” Bragg said. “We are in the middle of the process to be eligible to provide the program.”
The process could take six to nine months, but once began, will allow eligible Cal Poly students to receive birth control pills, condoms, barrier methods and more. It will also cover family planning type services as well as annual exams such as pap smears.
“Students are much more likely to go get birth control or get screened for STDs if it’s free,” communications junior Megan Mahoney said. “This program seems like it will be beneficial to students who wouldn’t normally want to pay for those services.”
An eligible candidate for the free services and supplies must be able to get pregnant, or be able to impregnate someone; must, as an individual in California, make less than $19,000 a year; and must not be able to afford current health insurance and deductibles or not want the holder of the insurance to know he or she has received the services or not have health insurance altogether.
Bragg asserted that most students would fall under these requirements. Also, students with health conditions that affect fertility would have those medical services covered by the plan.
The process is completely new to the Health Center, and although it involves much more paperwork and compliance with regulations, it will pay for itself, Bragg said. Eligible students can fill out a form at the Health Center to receive a card with their Family PACT identification number and be able to get free services. The Health Center will then fill out a “super bill” indicating the services they’ve provided and those will be billed through Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program.
The Health Center is hoping to be able to offer the program by the middle of next year. First they must become Medi-Cal providers which could take up to six months and then sign up to be an official part of the Family PACT program.
Almost 40 percent of undergraduate women use oral contraceptives, according to the American College Health Association. This large number of women confirms that there must be some sort of change to prevent high prices, and the PACT program is a trend that is traveling to at least 10 other CSUs across the state.
And while the campus health centers are the victims of this price increase, there are other off-campus alternatives where students can receive discounted or free birth control. Planned Parenthood is just one of those options, and has also already become a part of the Family PACT program.
The Health Center hopes that they can maintain their own reputation as a suitable and reasonable contraceptive source for students.
“We’re here on campus to be a convenience,” Bragg said. “When prices go up, we want to do something about it. That’s our role: to reduce the barriers to health care.”
And while most of the services and supplies are geared towards women, there are also parts of the program available to men.
“This includes screening for STDs,” Bragg said. “For the average student, that could save $50 or $60, certainly worth the 10 to 15 minutes to fill out the paperwork.”
The Family PACT program is also widely approved by the federal government because of its prevention of future costs that could be caused if contraception and prenatal health care was not easily available.
“They’ve found that having women be able to prevent pregnancy and maintaining good preconception care reduces medical costs to the state in the out-years,” Bragg said. “So you’re not having abortion costs or welfare costs for unwanted children. They figure for every dollar spent (on the Family PACT program), somewhere between $3 and $5 is saved.”