Birth Control Pills on Campus

The cost of prescription birth control pills is likely to increase dramatically on many college campuses this fall. Manufacturers of birth control pills routinely used to sell the pills to college health clinics at steeply discounted rates in an effort to win future customers. And in an effort to encourage responsible behavior and make birth control readily available, many colleges passed those savings directly on to the users. But according to an article in this week's The Chronicle of Higher Education (July 27, pp.A31-A32), changes in Medicaid reimbursement rules have made it too costly for the manufacturers to continue this practice. As a result, some college women will find that prices have gone up as much as 5-fold on campus this fall – to the same price they’d pay at a commercial pharmacy.

The American College Health Association is lobbying to have the Medicaid reimbursement ruling reversed, at least for college campuses, arguing that it was an unintended consequence of a change in the law. But that’s not likely to happen by the time students return to campus this fall.