Spring Break
Pricey Pill Means High Social Costs
Alex Sanders
Issue date: 4/12/07 Section: Commentary
College students have adjusted to the cost of gas, tuition and books increasing - but now birth control? It seems like that was the only affordable necessity left. No good can come from this increase. It is a simple enough task to increase tuition because the worst that can happen is that some people may become angry and more loans will have to be taken out. It isn't like the increased cost of tuition can result in a child. But the increased cost of birth control can.
According to USA Today, due to a deficit reduction bill affecting Medicaid, college students across the state will begin paying double or triple the cost of their contraceptive. As a result, some students may stop taking oral contraceptives and revert to a more general contraceptive. However, general contraceptives, along with other forms of birth control, may not be as safe or as reliable as the pill. The pill is highly effective on its own and doubly effective when paired with an additional form of birth control. Now, it will prove difficult to find a method that is as inexpensive, reliable, and safe as the pill is.
Other forms of birth control are not as safe as the pill and there is less known about them because they are newer. The Depo-Provera shot has already shown significant association with irreversible osteoporosis. Nuvaring, an internal form of birth control, does not appear to have many side effects as of now, but it is considerably new and all if its effects may not be known. Basically, out of all of the forms of birth control, the pill is the safest, simplest, and most common. More mothers will allow their daughters to take an oral contraceptive just as they did when they were in college, as opposed to allowing them to receive a mysterious shot or a surgically implanted device. Additionally, many people may not want to use such complicated methods for birth control.
Through a statistical survey, The American College Health Association found that about 39 percent of undergraduate women use various kinds of oral contraceptives, and not all of those women have medical insurance. Medical insurance will cushion the cost inflation, but everybody will feel the impact of the more expensive pills. With medical insurance, a previously $10 pack of pills will perhaps now be purchased at $13. But for those without medical insurance, the impact is much more significant. Because of the deficit bill, a pack of pills may now cost up to $30, which for some, is highly unaffordable.
According to USA Today, due to a deficit reduction bill affecting Medicaid, college students across the state will begin paying double or triple the cost of their contraceptive. As a result, some students may stop taking oral contraceptives and revert to a more general contraceptive. However, general contraceptives, along with other forms of birth control, may not be as safe or as reliable as the pill. The pill is highly effective on its own and doubly effective when paired with an additional form of birth control. Now, it will prove difficult to find a method that is as inexpensive, reliable, and safe as the pill is.
Other forms of birth control are not as safe as the pill and there is less known about them because they are newer. The Depo-Provera shot has already shown significant association with irreversible osteoporosis. Nuvaring, an internal form of birth control, does not appear to have many side effects as of now, but it is considerably new and all if its effects may not be known. Basically, out of all of the forms of birth control, the pill is the safest, simplest, and most common. More mothers will allow their daughters to take an oral contraceptive just as they did when they were in college, as opposed to allowing them to receive a mysterious shot or a surgically implanted device. Additionally, many people may not want to use such complicated methods for birth control.
Through a statistical survey, The American College Health Association found that about 39 percent of undergraduate women use various kinds of oral contraceptives, and not all of those women have medical insurance. Medical insurance will cushion the cost inflation, but everybody will feel the impact of the more expensive pills. With medical insurance, a previously $10 pack of pills will perhaps now be purchased at $13. But for those without medical insurance, the impact is much more significant. Because of the deficit bill, a pack of pills may now cost up to $30, which for some, is highly unaffordable.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 2
i dont get it
posted 4/12/07 @ 12:34 PM EST
whatever happened to the good ol fashioned condom? any idiot can figure out how to use it, it's 99% effective, its cheap, and it's easier than the pill because you dont need to worry about remembering to take it every day. (Continued…)
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