The Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center increased its
prices for birth control for the third time in one year.
As of Feb. 1, the Ashe Center now divides contraception into
three price tiers: $12, $28 and $45. Students covered by the
Student Health Insurance Plan pay a $30 copay, and SHIP covers the
additional $15 for those purchasing the $45 pills. Several pills
that used to cost $12 are now priced at $28, while many that were
$28 have been raised to $45.
Pharmacy Manager Steven Kozel said the center now charges more
for birth control because some vendors no longer classify the Ashe
Center as a clinic, and thus do not provide discounts on birth
control to the Ashe Center.
Though funded by UCLA, the Ashe Center was classified as a
clinic under Title X ““ the National Family Planning Program
““ a federal program that gives grants to clinics providing
contraception, said Ann Brooks, women’s health manager for
the Ashe Center.
Federal regulations require that clinics classified under Title
X charge for services on a sliding scale based on income and
provide services to anyone in the area.
“To be recognized as a clinic, we would have to accept
anyone from the surrounding community, and we don’t. We
accept UCLA students,” Kozel said.
The increase forces students to reevaluate their choice of birth
control based on price rather than on what works best for their
body.
“As a clinician, it is extremely frustrating to have the
cost of the contraception be a factor in this decision because it
might not be the one that the patient would want to use,”
Brooks said.
Students said they are concerned higher prices will compromise
their ability to make decisions based on quality.
“You have to change your priorities from what is first
best for your body to what’s cheapest,” said Anne
Pennypacker, a fourth-year art history student.
Some pills are still available at a lower price because they are
under patent protection and no other company can produce and sell
them.
A company may sell a patented product at a lower price to
encourage more users to try it.
One of the new pills the Ashe Center provides is Ortho Tricyclen
LO, a version of Ortho Tricyclen with less estrogen available for
$12.
“Through preferential pricing, companies steer individuals
into the newer product, such as LO, and are more likely to increase
that price when they have everyone using that product,” Kozel
said
The remainder of the Ortho products now cost either $28 or $45.
They are still widely used despite the development of generic
versions because people become comfortable with the brands.
The Ashe Center does not supply generic pills but is researching
the possibility.
“We’re looking into competing products to see if we
can save students money, but it is too early to tell,” Kozel
said.
The Ashe Center purchases contraceptives from wholesalers and
manufacturers, depending on what is cheaper, Kozel said.
Last year, prices were increased Mar. 1, when many pills rose
from $10 to $12 or $28, and again Nov. 3, when some prices rose
from $12 to $28.