Sharp rise in birth control cost hits home

[question everything]

StarTribune.com
Sharp rise in birth control cost hits home

Students and low-income women are getting hit with huge increases in the cost of most forms of birth control.

By Josephine Marcotty, Star Tribune

Jeanne Steil's heart sinks each time she has to break the news to a young woman across the pharmacy counter at Minnesota State University's student health services in Mankato. The cost of most forms of birth control, which had been $10 a month or lower, has jumped to as much as $55, virtually overnight... Most affected are females age 18 to 24, both students and other low-income women, who lack insurance coverage for contraception and for whom $35 to $55 per month is a steep price. About a third of college students who buy birth control pay in cash, health officials say. That includes many who have insurance through their parents, but who don't want them to know that they are using birth control.

(snip)

For years, student health services and family-planning clinics had been able to buy contraceptives at rock-bottom prices from pharmaceutical companies. The manufacturers gave a break to clinics serving women without insurance and built brand loyalty at the same time. Young women who started on a certain kind of birth-control pill, IUD or other contraceptive tended to stay with it for years. But the federal 2005 Deficit Reduction Act changed all that. The law requires pharmaceutical companies to include those low costs in the pricing formula used to set Medicaid drug prices. That would have significantly lowered the revenue that drug companies get from Medicaid, experts said. As a result, drug companies started charging most clinics full price in December and January.



Not all clinics were affected. In Minnesota, for example, Planned Parenthood's 22 clinics can still get lower prices because they are considered safety-net clinics and are exempt from the changes. But only patients who get their exams and contraceptives from Planned Parenthood get the lower price. Planned Parenthood charges patients a sliding fee based on income. Another 15 to 20 community and public health clinics and all college health services in Minnesota lost the federal status that qualified them for lower prices.

(snip)


There is some hope that the federal government could change the pricing policy. The Deficit Reduction Act left it up to Health and Human Services to decide which clinics can buy contraceptives at low cost and which cannot. College health services nationwide have banded together to try to persuade the federal government and Congress to include them, and family planning clinics are lobbying for the same thing. A decision is expected in July. "Bureaucrats in Washington have no idea what impact their decision has had on our students," Steil said.

http://www.startribune.com/1244/story/1156829.html

[SoCalDem]

1. well well. It would seem that a lot of young women will be changing their names soon..

to "Mommy"..:eyes:

[Erika]

2. Under W, they are lucky birth control has not been outlawed.

But he's working on it. Write your congresspeople and speak loud and clear.

[spacelady]

3. If the bureaucrats can't get you coming, they'll get you going....

bad play on words aside, it is utterly infuriating these anti choice assholes keep making it increasingly difficult for the most vulnerable to get effective birth control. I can't figure out what the hell they realy want to achieve!

[murielm99]

4. Of course, these idiots

who run the current government are all for this. They want to limit young women's freedom and sexuality. Have sex out of wedlock, and you deserve to get pregnant. Have an abortion and you deserve to die. They want women who don't have sex THEIR way to die.

My daughters get their birth control from the health department. They get it for a very low cost. Of course, they have to go to their own doctors for an exam and a prescription first. I know my youngest has gone to Planned Parenthood, too. She gave a donation for it, whatever she could afford. That is one reason among many that I give a substantial donation to Planned Parenthood every year.

They are both working now. I don't know if their health plans cover birth control. I would bet against it.

Why can't these wackos get it into their heads that this is about women's health? Do they want to be paying for a lot of unplanned pregnancies, through welfare? They will pass judgment on that, too. I am pretty sure that my smart, beautiful daughters will have children when they are ready. So will my son and his SO. If not, that is their choice.

I despise these people. Any woman with a brain should be working to get them out of power.

[Erika]

5. It's about a power trip over women

Women are such unruly sluts.

[Triana]

27. It all goes back to the 'women as property' attitude...

..'women are chattel' - breed sows.

[Hekate]

8. So true. It's really about control of women and their sexuality, health be damned.

It's despicable.I agree with you completely that they believe women who deviate from their narrow worldview deserve to die.

Hekate

[islandspirit]

6. Affordable drugs in Canada

It's awful to pay for drugs in US. I recently paid $103 for 1 prescription but 3 months were $79 from Canada - go on-line - if everyone would stop buying drugs in US, imagine the message that would send.

[charlie]

9. I'm afraid the message received wouldn't be the message sent

It would mean it's time to throw Homeland Security, corporate lawyers, and the tax code at unruly Canadians and their customers across the border, until the proper order of things are restored.

[Shallah Kali]

25. many who have bought meds from Canada got them conficated by the FDA

they might be dangerous drugs that could harm a person unlike those 20+million chickens who ate toxins that they decided are perfectly safe for eateni.

[JCMach1]

7. Big pharma screwing the American people... Big name pharma

brands cost around $10 here... The UAE is a non-controlled pharma market same as U.S.


Only difference? Drug makers are not allowed to price gouge. The must give a fair price for their goods.

[SoCalDem]

10. Maybe we should re-import from YOU

:rofl:

[JCMach1]

17. Start a mail order company...

Zoinks!

[SoCalDem]

18. We'll take Xanax for $3.50, Alex (said Miss Laura)

:)

[JCMach1]

23. xactly...

[Stargazer99]

11. Pharma has already threatened Canada

This threat was given to Canada during the time the older folks went across the border to get the drugs cheaper. Well, guess what Pharma did...told Canada if they didn't stop suppling the old folks that Pharma would cut-off the supply to Canada. Sounds like no one on this board was privy to a newspaper or news stating that fact. Corporate assholes need to be CONTROLLED!

[Kagemusha]

12. Surely you don't mean that literally? I learned of that situation on DU.

Having said that, besides people just getting drugs cheaper, there was a situation developing whereby it wasn't 1st world pharmaceuticals that were being resold back to the US. Plus you had bad/ watered-down drugs being sold by scam artists and so on, purely because of the money involved inviting scum to jump in on the party. That was the stuff that really started scaring the Canadian government - that's why it started cracking down. If people started dying over this stuff it would bring hell. I'm not sure what the situation is now because the issue's quieted down and all hope of opening US borders to legitimate, cheaper drugs from Canada has been cut off by the Bush administration. (Emphasis on legitimate - pharma fraud is not cool, in any country.)

I'd also say governed/ regulated rather than throwing around 'controlled' but that's just me..

[kdmorris]

13. Actually, they stopped seizing drugs at the border now

They did it quietly, behind the scenes, but you can do it again.

And, by the way, the issue WAS NEVER that bad drugs were being sold. If you buy drugs without a prescription from India or Colombia, you may have that problem, but that simply wasn't true of Canada. Of course, the Republicans took up that cause to make it seem like they were protecting us, but they really just wanted to protect drug company profits.

[Kagemusha]

15. Simply wasn't true? Well, I don't know the truth about that so won't guess.

Someone close to me has discussed the issue with me and said that bad drugs were indeed a problem; I can't independently verify that. I certainly can see situations where doctors mass produce blind prescriptions; it's something authorities crack down hard on anywhere they find it in any western nation (like, for instance, prescription of high end painkillers).

But it's almost totally besides the point. If there was a bad drug problem, fine, deal with it - if there's a good drug "problem" that's been attacked purely for financial reasons, that's scummy. My reaction is flexible to the extent the bad drug problem existed. I just don't happen to know the true extent. No one's perfect.

[kdmorris]

20. Sorry, Dude

I think I may have reacted too strongly. That wasn't my intent. I really wasn't trying to be confrontation with YOU. Guess some of that was from years of pent up frustration with the cost of the drugs I have to take for Diabetes and Thyroid Disease. There is a massive problem with bad drugs from disreputable sources, for example "Viagra - no prescription needed.. get it now" sort of websites. There was generally no problem with getting medications from actual Canadian pharmacies with a prescription.

I agree with you about fixing the bad drug problem without punishing people who really need the cheaper drugs. And I sincerely apologize for seeming like I was pissed at you. I wasn't. :toast:

[Kagemusha]

21. It's ok, I draw that reaction a lot.

It's hard to get the real bottom line to thorny issues. Sometimes it takes thorny questions.

[kdmorris]

22. Yeah, well

The fact that I act like an emotional basket case sometimes probably doesn't help much either :D

[Screwfly]

14. I wonder

if the sharp rise in birth control costs is some kind of sinister eugenics plot, or maybe an attempt by rich, white people to corner the market on female reproduction. Man, that would be the ultimate power grab for TPTB if they could control who gets pregnant when with their choice of biological mother and father.

[Kagemusha]

16. Uh, if they wanted eugenics, they'd give liberals all the birth control they want

I'd think that's completely elementary. I'm not saying their motives are at all good.. they just seem quite different from what you're getting at.

[LeftishBrit]

45. If so, it would be the opposite of almost any eugenic program or proposal that has ever come up!

The point of eugenics has generally been to reduce the birth rate in those perceived by the (usually white and fairly rich) eugenicists to be inferior, generally meaning poorer people and non-whites, and to increase the birth rate among rich white people. Making birth control unaffordable to poorer people is greedy, selfish, cruel and short-sighted; but it does not correspond to any eugenic plot that I have ever heard of!

[TheMadMonk]

19. Wonder who gets approval?

The Deficit Reduction Act left it up to Health and Human Services to decide which clinics can buy contraceptives at low cost and which cannot.

"And one last question; What advice do you give your clients on the subject of abortion?"

[Lorien]

24. Have any women here had experience with IUDs?

I've noticed the increase in the cost of the Pill at Planned Parenthood lately (the only place I can find in this town which doesn't ask me about my relationship with Jesus). The Pill costs $30-40 a month and has a few nasty side effects. A brochure from PP on the IUD says it costs between $175-500 and can last up to 12 years. I know it's a rather personal question, but I'd certainly appreciate any opinions on the pros and cons of the IUD. It seems to me that they are simply trying to make birth control harder and harder to come by, in which case a device with a 12 year effect might be a fairly wise option to take.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

26. I don't know how safe the new ones are.

Back in the 70s the IUDs were taken off the market due to infected uteri (pyometria) and causing infections that led to sterility. Many lawsuits were filed.

I assume they have been redesigned, but don't know anything about the new ones.

[FloridaJudy]

28. The newer IUDs are safe

Almost all of the problems associated with the IUD were caused by one product - the Dalkon shield. If you want to read about a horrifying case of predatory marketing, Google it. Fortunately, the Paragard and Mirena IUDs have been extensively studied in Europe and Mexico, and have a very favorable safety record.

The problem is the initial price. If your local Planned Parenthood offers them for $175, that's amazingly cheap. Most clinics and MDs are charging $600 and up. You could probably get them a bit cheaper at a public health department, but even there IUDs are likely to be pricey. Most of the cost is for the device itself. No one I know is getting rich inserting IUDs, and I know a lot of doctors, midwives and nurse-practitioners.

If you do the math, $600 is extremely reasonable for 5-10 years of reliable contraception, much cheaper than any other. The problem is, how many of the Working Poor, or students, can afford to shell out $600 at once? With gas prices rising, the situation is not likely to improve for them anytime soon.

There was an old song from the 20's with the line "The rich get richer and the poor get children". Under * and his toadies, we're marching forward to the Harding administration.

[Lorien]

30. Thanks for the information

I'm self employed, and my income has dropped 65% since * came into office (mostly due to too much competition and the offshoring of our jobs). I'm worried that I may not be able to afford $30-40 a month in the near future, so a few hundred now might protect against that scenario. As you say; the working poor-or nearly poor-and students can't muster $600. it's simply unreal how much the cost of living has risen in just a few short years, and how drastically some of our wages have dropped in the same amount of time!

[Gelliebeans]

34. My newly divorced

friend had to shell out $600.00 recently for the IUD. No insurance. Sheesh...:eyes:

[FloridaJudy]

37. To be fair, I must point out

Some women cannot tolerate IUDs. They experience heavy cramping and bleeding. Before I had given birth, I was one of them. After my son was born, I used one successfully for over 5 years. The Mirena - which unfortunately is the more expensive IUD - seems to be better tolerated.

So after shelling out over $600, there's always the chance you might be right back where you started. If finances are tight, that could be a consideration. Talk it over with your health care provider, and do some homework. Info on both kinds of IUD - including who shouldn't use them is available from a number of web sites. I'd suggest Planned Parenthood for unbiased info.

[Lorien]

39. Thanks for that additional information FloridaJudy!

I'll certainly think about that when considering the financial advantages/ disadvantages of this option.

[FloridaJudy]

44. I found a resource

For women with limited incomes interested in the Mirena IUD:

http://www.archfoundation.com/About.htm

This program must have been started recently, since I left practice. I found it while Googling IUDs, to see if there was any new information. This might be worth looking in to.

[JCMach1]

29. My mom coming into my room as a child almost dead from a Dalcon Shield

Put me off seeing ANY woman with an IUD...

She was delirious from fever...

She was EXTREMELY close to death from perotinitis caused by the IUD.


Years later we got a new couch out of the class action suit... what a freakin' country.

[Lorien]

31. That's horrible!

I'm so glad she survived the ordeal. It sounds like the Dalcon shield was another case of quick bucks over safety, though from what FloridaJudy says it seems that there have been vast improvements since then.

[noamnety]

32. Please don't malign ALL IUDs with the dalkon shield nightmare

There was a massive design flaw in ONE kind of IUD, which was on the market for a total of three years thirty years ago, which is unrelated to the design of other IUDs.

While I am sure that was a horrifying experience for you and your mother, DU shouldn't become a place for misleading information or scare tactics about birth control methods. Let's not do that 9-11 --> Al Qaeda --> terrorists --> Saddam --> let's invade Iraq style of association here.

[noamnety]

33. I'm on my second one.

Love it.

I went through a nightmare of changing pill prescriptions when I was younger, trying to find one that didn't jack my normally low blood pressure into the stratosphere, and make me gain a huge amount of weight, which I lost immediately after getting off the pill.

I also am too absent minded to deal with taking a pill every day, so this suits me better, personally.

I think I spent about $200 at PP.

The first couple months were bad, there's sort of an adjustment period your body goes through. My doctor had one herself, and she said "trust me, if you wait it out instead of coming back to have it removed, you'll never regret it." She was right.

For me, I appreciate not having chemicals pumped into me, or having to think about buying things, eating things, inserting things, all that muck, for the next decade.

(If you want more detailed info, please feel free to message me.)

[Lorien]

40. Thanks Ifwern

Yeah, my doctor wants me off the horomones for the same reasons and then some. I may be PMing you sometime soon! :hi:

[gollygee]

36. I love my IUD

I have the copper one - Paraguard I think it's called - and it's done a good job the past 5 years I've had it. I can't even tell it's there. It supposedly can make periods a bit stronger but I haven't had any problem with that. The other IUD - Minerva - has low-dosage hormones and doesn't have that problem. In fact it can make periods lighter. But I can't use hormones so this was a great choice for me.

[Lorien]

38. Thanks for sharing the info! Can I ask if you've ever had children?

I never have, and I've heard that there's more side effects if you've never given birth. Paraguard is the one I would probably choose because horomones mess up my vascular system and put 10 pounds on me. :-(

[gollygee]

42. I have a 5-year-old

I got the IUD when she was a two or three months old. I guess it's possible that makes a difference. Also, my periods were always very light before hand so if it made a difference I might not have really noticed.

[BluePatriot]

35. Yeah mine went from $25 to $123

for a three month supply >< Granted there is no generic for my new BCP yet, which is supposedly going to clear up my acne and level out my moods and whatever...it was my choice to be on it, but damn.

edit: oh yeah and that is WITH insurance, without, they quoted me $100 a pack o.O

[uppityperson]

41. That is bizarre. We used to get boxes of free samples to hand out in clinics

starter packs. These should be under $20/month. Hey anti-choice people, want to help decrease unwanted pregnancies? Help fund OCs.

[Nikki Stone1]

43. kick and recommend

:kick:

[krkaufman]

46. And I doubt that it was an unintentional consequence of the drug bill, either.