[Dec. 5, 2008]
Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) in a recent letter to President-elect Barack Obama urged him to restore birth control discounts for college and university health clinics and private clinics, CQ HealthBeat reports.
According to CQ HealthBeat, colleges and private clinics received deep discounts on birth control pills and devices under an existing law, but the discounts were discontinued after colleges and some clinics were removed from a list of facilities eligible to receive such discounts under the 2006 deficit reduction law. Last year, Obama sponsored a bill (S 2347) to fix the problem that would have restored the incentives for pharmaceutical companies to provide the discounts, and Crowley sponsored a companion House bill (HR 4054). A proposal identical to the Crowley and Obama bills was included in the Senate version of the 2009 war supplemental spending bill; however the provision was removed by members in the House concerned that it would trigger a presidential veto.
Crowley in the letter wrote that the "cost of birth control for patients at affected clinics has sky rocketed" since the beginning of the year, "rising from $5 to $10 to $50 per month." Crowley added that the price increase has "caus[ed] numerous women to forgo using contraception and, in turn pu[t] themselves at risk of unintended pregnancy."
Angela Burranco, Crowley's communication director, said that the "economic impact of (the price increase), especially during these difficult times, is huge." Burranco added that Obama was a "really strong supporter" of efforts to restore the discounts and that Crowley is confident the discounts will be restored "now that we have a willing partner in the administration" (Semnani, CQ HealthBeat, 12/4).
The information contained in this publication reflects media coverage of women’s health issues and does not necessarily reflect the views of the National Partnership for Women & Families.
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