University of Wisconsin students who get their prescription contraceptives from University Health Services may be in for a sticker shock as they return to campus this fall.
Late last spring, drug manufacturers raised the prices of several popular name-brand contraceptives. In order to compensate for the manufacturer’s price hike, UHS raised the fee it charges students for these birth control products — in many cases increasing the cost from $6 a month to over $20 a month.
These price increases create a dilemma for many UW students who want to practice safer sex. While $6 a month is a feasible cost for almost any student, those with a tight budget may have a hard time squeezing out upwards of $20 a month. For a 12-month prescription, it’s the difference between $72 and $240 — a price hike of $168 a year.
While UHS did not instigate these price increases, it is essential that they offer students a variety of affordable options for a very popular — and extremely important — service. This is currently not the case. According to the pharmacy at UHS, a prescription of either Ortho Tri-Cyclen oral contraceptives or the Ortho Evra patch currently costs $20.35 a month, while a three-month Depo-Provera shot costs $56.65. These prices already take into account the discount UHS gets from the name-brand manufacturer. And looking for a generic brand of these products also does nothing to solve the problem. The generic version of the Ortho Tri-Cyclen products cost even more than their name-brand counterparts at $25 for a one-month prescription.
Of the pill, the patch and the shot — arguably the three most popular contraceptives for college women — the only thing available for under $10 a month is Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo, a new birth control pill that contains lower levels of hormones. While it is great that UHS is able to offer this form of birth control at a lower cost — $7.26 for a one-month prescription — it is unacceptable that this is the only affordable product UHS offers for three very popular methods of birth control. Many women become comfortable with the type of birth control they are using and become reluctant to switch to other products, such as the NuvaRing, simply because they are cheaper. In addition, many women need a variety of options in order to find a form of birth control that works with their body — and if those options are not available or are too expensive, they may not be utilized at all.
While using Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) or private insurance plans may defray the costs of prescription contraceptives, many students do not have or do not want to use insurance in order to maintain their privacy.
The contraceptive services UHS offers are essential to this campus and should not be undermined by price hikes from drug manufacturers. UW and UHS need to find a way to make these products more affordable for the women on this campus before riskier behavior becomes the by-product of lack of affordability.
In the meantime, UW students need to be aware that there are three Planned Parenthood locations in Madison, and all offer a variety of birth-control options on a sliding-fee scale based on income. One of these clinics is even located very close to campus (on Mifflin Street), so if UHS is not an affordable option, Planned Parenthood is — and it is within walking distance. In addition, free condoms are available at locations all over campus, including UHS, Planned Parenthood and many of the dorms.
