Birth control may soon become more affordable for many local college women, thanks to an obscure provision in the giant federal spending bill signed earlier this month by President Barack Obama.
The measure unsnarls a congressional mix-up dating back to 2005, when legislation aimed at reducing the deficit and squeezing savings out of Medicaid drug costs also led to the elimination of steep discounts that drug companies had been offering college clinics and other “safety net” family planning clinics. When the policy took effect in 2007, the price of contraceptives on campuses across Wisconsin and the rest of the country shot up from less than $10 a month to $40 or $50, sparking a public outcry.