Since 1990, drug companies have offered low cost birth control to college health clinics and safety-net providers, making it affordable for the college students and low-income women who rely on it. However, deficit reduction legislation passed by Congress in 2005 which took effect this year inadvertently excluded over 400 clinics from this program.
This means that many women, especially college students, were suddenly and unintentionally excluded from receiving low cost birth control from their local safety-net healthcare provider or university health clinic. Over 3 million undergraduate students have seen their monthly birth control prices skyrocket, from $10 up to $40 or $50.
This sharp rise in the cost of birth control dispensed by college campus health centers and clinics serving low-income women has forced many women to choose between reliable birth control and other necessities. It has also caused many college health clinics to stop providing birth control because they can no longer afford to do so.
Efforts are underway in both the House and the Senate to correct this error. But, the Prevention Through Affordable Access proposal needs public support. You can lend your support by clicking on this link to the Two Minute Activist. (You don't have to be an AAUW member to use this service.)
Photo by Amber Bradley
American Association of University Women - Two Minute Activist:
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