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An increase in birth control prices on college campuses.

post #1 of 77
8/4/07 at 4:31am
Thread Starter 
http://online.wsj.com/public/article...f_main_tff_top

This frustrates me for a few reasons:

1. College students are poor, and can't really afford the increase.

2. This is a segment of the population that NEEDS birth control more than any other because of the risk factors.

3. As far as I can tell, and I've done my research, no other medication has been affected.

Why isn't birth control free and available for anyone who wants it? This will cause in increase in abortion rates.
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post #2 of 77
8/4/07 at 6:37am
that is terrible. birth control is free here in the uk weather your on benfits or not, you can go to your family planning clinic or a doctor to get a prescription for the chemist which is also free. it is free for the pill, injection,condoms, this implant that lasts 3 years (which is great) also the coil SP?
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post #3 of 77
8/4/07 at 6:43am
I agree that they should get a discount. But they also shouldn't be souly depending on birth control pills either. Sure they prevent pregnancy, but they don't do anything to prevent STDs. People should be using not only BC pill, but also condoms because pregnancy is the least of their problems if they end up with HIV or Hep C.
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post #4 of 77
8/4/07 at 7:40am
WHY should the taxpayers be subsidizing college students' sex lives? Part of the college experience is learning how to act in a mature, responsible manner and that includes taking responsibility for contraception.

As for the cost, most college towns have Planned Parenthood clinics (that's where I got mine, at that age).
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post #5 of 77
8/4/07 at 7:52am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by katl8e View Post
WHY should the taxpayers be subsidizing college students' sex lives? Part of the college experience is learning how to act in a mature, responsible manner and that includes taking responsibility for contraception.

As for the cost, most college towns have Planned Parenthood clinics (that's where I got mine, at that age).
I don't understand the responsibility argument. The essence of the whole thing is that college students are being responsible by getting it in the first place. The fact is adults are going to have sex and making it as cost effective as possible for them is going to make lives much easier for all involved.

My main issue is that this is the ONLY medication that is going up in price. Why?

Also, it's much cheaper to subsidize birth control than.... oh lets say.... child care.
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post #6 of 77
8/4/07 at 10:41am
I think everything in life should be free.






And what about safe sex? You say they are so poor, are they stupid too?
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post #7 of 77
8/4/07 at 1:23pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ckblv View Post
I think everything in life should be free.






And what about safe sex? You say they are so poor, are they stupid too?
No, they aren't stupid. Condom failure rates much higher than the pill, so it simply makes sense that a young woman that is sexually active, and has no health risks should be on the pill.
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post #8 of 77
8/4/07 at 4:58pm
Keep in mind though that many college students are still on mom and dad's health insurance so they are still able to get some form of a co-pay.

Also many Universities now (at least in MI) require that if you're living on campus that you have some form of health insurance. I actually thought about going on the health plan where I go to school because the co-pay cost for any Rx would be $20 for brand names rather than the $40 I'm paying right now.

Also even though the risk of pregnancy is higher with a condom if I were a sexually active with several guys, I would MUCH rather have the condoms than BC because of the high risk of STDs. IMO I think BC should be coming with 28 free condoms too.

Anyways, I can't fully answer the question, all I know is where ever there is a college with a lot of students, suddenly everything costs more. Food, drugs, gyms, salons, etc.

Personally I don't think ANY medication should be over $30 out of pocket. It's just the number of ads that are being run to generate business for the Rx as well as the sales people they hire off the street to recite information some marketing department made up to doctors.
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post #9 of 77
8/4/07 at 5:51pm
It should be the same price for the students as it is for anyone else - In Australia doesn't matter who you are (unless you are on benefits) you pay the same for birth control

What I do object to however, is that this is the only medication going up - That is plainly unfair - We all know that most university students don't have a lot of money, some barely able to feed themselves let alone be able to afford an increase in birth control

Adults will have sex - They are allowed - And at least they are being responsible by taking birth control - Not to mention that this price increase ONLY affects women

This will not stop university students from having sex - But will increase unwatned births, leading to increased abortion rates, increased adoption and a heavier burden on the system of child care

Wouldn't it be better to stop any children being born in the first place???
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post #10 of 77
8/4/07 at 6:12pm
Don't kid yourself, condoms are a VERY reliable form of birth control if used correctly. I used them for years. I would not take BC pills. I was NOT going to ingest pregnant horses urine for decades, NO WAY.
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post #11 of 77
8/4/07 at 8:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by katl8e View Post
WHY should the taxpayers be subsidizing college students' sex lives? Part of the college experience is learning how to act in a mature, responsible manner and that includes taking responsibility for contraception.
Yeah that - I agree!
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post #12 of 77
8/4/07 at 9:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ckblv View Post
You say they are so poor, are they stupid too?
Sometimes with busy schedules it can be hard to remember to take them perfectly, thus decreasing effectiveness. And for some women the pill has unwanted side effects too. They are not stupid.
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post #13 of 77
8/4/07 at 11:15pm
I know of at least four people who have got pregnant using condoms alone - including me. And my mother. And none of us were stupid and all of us used them `properly'. Their failure rate is almost double that of the contraceptive pill.

Typical Contraceptive Failure Rates

Implants and injectables
2-4%

Oral contraceptives
9%

Diaphragm and cervical cap
13%

Male condom
15%

Periodic abstinence
22%

Withdrawal
26%

Spermicides
28%

I personally think unless you are in a committed relationship you should use both. But this is mainly because of STDs, which are (obviously) not guarded against using the pill.

It seems pretty unfair that this is the only medication that has gone up in price, and once again, it's only the women who are going to be out of pocket. Typical.
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post #14 of 77
8/4/07 at 11:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by katl8e View Post
WHY should the taxpayers be subsidizing college students' sex lives? Part of the college experience is learning how to act in a mature, responsible manner and that includes taking responsibility for contraception.
i fully agree, Why should my money be going for birth control,
here is a idea, if they can not afford birth control then maybe they should not be having sex, in the first place..since they are in college then i am going to assume they should be smart enough to know this.

and how about making food free,gas free.
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post #15 of 77
8/4/07 at 11:31pm
Why is it that nobody ever wants to contribute their taxpayer's money to anything? Isn't that what it's for? To make the place you live a better place? To give everyone an equal opportunity?

Charity, philanthropy, a helping hand - these things all seem to be as far as possible from anyone's priorities these days. Apparently, everyone is just in life for themselves, and everybody else can like it or lump it. It's very sad to me.
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post #16 of 77
8/4/07 at 11:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by theimp98 View Post
i fully agree, Why should my money be going for birth control,
Because 99.99% of the time, its the woman who has to be responsible for birth control - Thats just a fact of life - And thats irrespective of whether its the pill or condoms

Why should my tax money go to people who have disabilities? I don't have one - Because thats the way society should be

I don't have kids either, but my money goes towards public school education, and I don't mind a bit

We should be using our tax payers money for ALL medicines - Irrespective of their use
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post #17 of 77
8/4/07 at 11:46pm
I used to be one of those college students getting cheap birth control. I also believe condoms are necessary but since they do fail a back-up plan is nice. But I actually need them for health reasons, and have on and off (now totally on) since I was 13. Unfortunately my mother works for Walmart and when they dropped Dean Care HMO so everybody had to use the Walmart health plan I was SOL. Nothing short of an act of god was going to get them to pay for my BC pills. One jerk of a phone operator even said to us that they would pay for hormone replacements. Yeah, like an 18 year old with a period that won't stop needs that!

As for Planned Parenthood, it was very difficult to get to in my college town (unless you owned a car), and not existent for an hour+ drive in my home area due to strong anti-abortion sentiments.

And I'm far from the only girl that needs BC for health reasons. Some of my friends did too.

It's insulting that they raised the rates for BC but not for other meds. Is women's reproductive health not important?
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post #18 of 77
8/5/07 at 12:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Naturestee View Post

It's insulting that they raised the rates for BC but not for other meds. Is women's reproductive health not important?


Amen to that - Birth control pills are NOT only used for birth control
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post #19 of 77
8/5/07 at 5:50am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by theimp98 View Post
i fully agree, Why should my money be going for birth control,
here is a idea, if they can not afford birth control then maybe they should not be having sex, in the first place..since they are in college then i am going to assume they should be smart enough to know this.

and how about making food free,gas free.
Because you already pay for WICK, Section 8 housing, and Head Start. That is the end product of a young woman having a child.
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post #20 of 77
8/5/07 at 6:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by KitEKats4Eva! View Post
Charity, philanthropy, a helping hand - these things all seem to be as far as possible from anyone's priorities these days. Apparently, everyone is just in life for themselves, and everybody else can like it or lump it. It's very sad to me.
so we shoudl give ugly people a sex aid fund so they can pick up hookers ?
i have no issues helping someone,

however money for fun they can spend there own money.
how we are at it can we start a state fund for low cost strip bars


Quote:
Originally Posted by jane_vernon View Post
Because 99.99% of the time, its the woman who has to be responsible for birth control - Thats just a fact of life - And thats irrespective of whether its the pill or condoms

Why should my tax money go to people who have disabilities? I don't have one - Because thats the way society should be

I don't have kids either, but my money goes towards public school education, and I don't mind a bit

We should be using our tax payers money for ALL medicines - Irrespective of their use
that is her fault, if she makes the choice not to also make the male responsible for it part of it.

there is a difference a huge one between helping someone who needs it such as someone with a disabliitly, then helping someone to have sex.

education is also very different then paying to help adults get laid.


Quote:
Originally Posted by lookingglass View Post
Because you already pay for WICK, Section 8 housing, and Head Start. That is the end product of a young woman having a child.
yea, well most of those WE should not be paying for.
Sorry i made in past college,and 39 years without making any unwanted kids.
it not that hard.

maybe instead of worring about the price of BC they should worry about there ECON class
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post #21 of 77
8/5/07 at 7:24am
They're probably not spending that much time worrying about the price of BC. It's probably just a topic of conversation amongst their busy lives. People are making it sound like all students think about is sex. If that was true, nobody would graduate.

There would be no issue with the cost of birth control medication going up if the cost of all other medications was also going up accordingly. However, it isn't, and that makes it a bit fishy.

Oh, and sex between consenting adults who are in love (or lust) is not equitable with porn and strip bars. Sex isn't sordid and dirty - it's natural. And unfortunately not everyone is as careful as you or I, so rather than pointing the finger, how about a little bit of help maintaining population control. It's not too much to ask and it's not a misappropriation of tax-payer's money. I think the greater good of the community is never a waste of funding.
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post #22 of 77
8/5/07 at 9:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ckblv View Post
Don't kid yourself, condoms are a VERY reliable form of birth control if used correctly. I used them for years. I would not take BC pills. I was NOT going to ingest pregnant horses urine for decades, NO WAY.
You are thinking of Premarin or Prempro which is the HRT used for menopausal women. This is a different type of estrogen than is used in oral contraceptives, hence the name PREMARIN.

Oral contraceptives use ethinyl estradiol as its form of estrogen while HRT Premarin uses a combination of conjugated estrogens derived from female horse urine.

That being said though, I personally don't like the forms of hormonal birth control simply because of the persistent invasive nature of drug therapy.

What is best is a combination of two or more methods.
Ie, you could use a condom and a spermicidal foam you are equally as protected when using OCP and you are then protected against STD's as well.

However, I also believe in a woman's INFORMED right to choose her own method of birth control and whatever she believes will work for her.

It's incredulous when they would raise these rates for one of the poorest demographics in the nation.

You think you don't like paying for these increased rates now? What about having children when you can't afford it and relying on the system? The cost will be a hundred fold.
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post #23 of 77
8/5/07 at 9:38am
Ok I will get to the orignal topic in a moment.

Why is it that so many people of younger generation have such an aversaion to using 2 forms of BC. Sure the pill, shot or IUD protects you pretty good for pregnancy it does not protect you from an STD. Thats what condoms are for. Other than abstance (which I know I spelled that wrong) nothing else but a condom to my knowledge will protect you from that. And for the record I got pregnant with my first son at 16 on Depo only. After that it was BC and a condom when I did the deed and had no issues. Stopped using them when me and hubby wanted a child.

Second of all WIC and Head Start is not just for young parents to send their kids there. When 2 of my sons were in head start there were many parents there from all walks of life. Not all of them were young moms.

Now to the orignal question why is BC now the only thing costing more. I have no real answers to that just a theory. More people are now using the pill and instead of making it dirt cheap for everyone. They raise the price slightly.More profit.

There are other places to get free or low cost BC. Someone already mentioned Planned Parenthood. That is a great place to start. Also most health depts. give condoms out for free (most of the ones I have been to do) and BC is either free or greatly reduced to the tune of a few bucks.
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post #24 of 77
8/5/07 at 11:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by KitEKats4Eva! View Post
Why is it that nobody ever wants to contribute their taxpayer's money to anything? Isn't that what it's for? To make the place you live a better place? To give everyone an equal opportunity?

Charity, philanthropy, a helping hand - these things all seem to be as far as possible from anyone's priorities these days. Apparently, everyone is just in life for themselves, and everybody else can like it or lump it. It's very sad to me.

Wrong. It is a well-known fact that the American people give the most.
How much do Austrailian's give?

And I don't believe in Socialism.
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post #25 of 77
8/5/07 at 11:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ckblv View Post
Wrong. It is a well-known fact that the American people give the most.
How much do Austrailian's give?

.
What an entirely "uncharitable" and self-centred comment to make.
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post #26 of 77
8/5/07 at 11:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ckblv View Post
Wrong. It is a well-known fact that the American people give the most.
Can you provide some back-up for that statement? I thought it was Norwegians last year.
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post #27 of 77
8/5/07 at 12:02pm
You know, I just saw an article on that not to long ago but don't remember where.

Loveysmummy, I'm sorry, sometimes the truth hurts and I'm not trying to be sarcastic. But when people make posts acting like Americans are to cheap to pay for someone elses BC, (like we really should have to) I get a bit ruffled.
Americans ARE known for their generosity in times of need. Is anyone disputing that?
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post #28 of 77
8/5/07 at 12:06pm
I don't understand a lot of things about birth control pills. I've been on them since I was 14 years old. I'm 48 now. This January was the first time EVER that my bcp's were covered by insurance. I always get the least expensive generic ones, which are still ~$30/month. Think about it......34 years of birth control pills at between $20 - $30 a month. That's a LOT of flippin' money spent on undesired fertility. They should have been covered from the get-go by insurance. I really think that was a descrimination issue, especially since Viagra was covered immediately when it came on the market. Okay, sorry for the hi-jack and I'll step off my soapbox now....
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post #29 of 77
8/5/07 at 12:14pm
You are right about the Viagra Pookie. It is still a man's world I guess.

But I really don't think $1.00 a day is a big deal.
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post #30 of 77
8/5/07 at 12:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jcat View Post
Can you provide some back-up for that statement? I thought it was Norwegians last year.

It may have been, per capita, but total dollars I think was Americans. I have been searching but haven't found the article yet.

QUOTE-----
Why is it that nobody ever wants to contribute their taxpayer's money to anything? Isn't that what it's for? To make the place you live a better place? To give everyone an equal opportunity?

Charity, philanthropy, a helping hand - these things all seem to be as far as possible from anyone's priorities these days. Apparently, everyone is just in life for themselves, and everybody else can like it or lump it. It's very sad to me.
QUOTE-----




That just isn't true at all. Plus, it is way to much of a generalization IMO. It isn't right to say everyone is in it for themselves, we all know that isn't true, although sometimes we feel like that, there is MUCH MUCH good in the world.
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