President Obama is quickly overturning some of the previous administration's health-care regulations that primarily affected women. On the president's desk now is a provision reversing a 2005 law that financially dissuaded pharmaceutical companies from discounting birth control pills and other contraceptives to family planning clinics and campus health clinics, reports U.S. News and World Report.
College women were particularly affected. Many saw their favorite contraceptive brands' cost rise from $5 to $10 a month to $30 to $50 a month. The new provision, in a bill expected to be signed by Obama as early as today, allows drug companies to once again offer the discounts, at no cost to taxpayers.
"It's a tremendous victory for women's health," Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards tells me. "It's an indication we have a government now that's really focused on prevention and expanding access to women's healthcare." During the Bush years, her nonprofit had organized a large petition drive among college students, as well as meetings with congressional leaders, in a futile attempt to change the policy.
So will companies offer these bargain rates once again? After all, the economy has tanked since they last offered them. "We're looking into it. It's something we would definitely like to support," says Lisa Ellen, spokesperson for Schering-Plough, manufacturer of NuvaRing. Don't expect, though, to see those contraceptive discounts overnight: Health clinics will need time to renegotiate their contracts with the drug companies and will probably want to first sell off their stock of higher-priced contraceptives before purchasing cheaper supplies, says Hoban. Bottom line: Students may not feel an ease on their pocketbooks until the next academic year.
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