Birth Control Pricing: Malia’s Story
The University Wire reports that college student Malia Mason had to take a job to make extra money to pay for the increased cost of birth control. Many student health clinics and other health centers around the country lost discounts on contraceptives when the Deficit Reduction Act of 2006 (DRA) took effect on January 1, 2007.
The DRA includes a provision that unintentionally adversely affects the ability of clinics, such as those run by universities, and many operated by Planned Parenthood, to purchase contraceptives at a discounted price.
Mason, who is on the pill primarily for health reasons, decided to fill the remainder of the year’s prescriptions before the price rose. “It was tough,” she told the newspaper. “I worked 35 hours a week while taking classes, and it took at least a month’s pay to cover the cost of about seven months worth of birth control. I also pay rent for an apartment, so it was difficult allocating the funds to the different needs in my life.”
Published: 10.31.07
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