Sponsored by: Representative Joseph Crowley (D-NY)
Summary: For 20 years, drug companies have been encouraged by the federal government to provide university student health centers and community health clinics with discounted contraceptives, thus allowing these health care providers to pass these savings along to university students and low-income women. This has allowed many women, regardless of income, to access vital pregnancy prevention methods and to improve their health. Due to an inadvertent mistake in the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act (DRA), every university health center and many community health clinics were cut off from accessing discounted birth control through these drug company incentives. The result has caused birth control prices at these clinics to skyrocket to double, even triple, amounts. This crisis is estimated to affect more than 3 million college women and hundreds of thousands of low-income women. HR 398 would help to return birth control prices to affordable levels for university students and low-income women by fixing the mistake in the DRA and restoring the ability for university health centers and community clinics to access discounted contraceptives from responsible drug companies. UPDATE: On March 11, 2009, President Obama signed into law the FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations package (HR 1105), which – among other things – included no-cost, technical language to once again permit pharmaceutical companies to offer affordable contraceptives to all every university health center and many community family planning healthcare providers. With this corrective language now in place, millions of U.S. women once again have access to preventive health care. Thank you to everyone who showed support for this important issue—your efforts paved the way to victory!
For 20 years, drug companies have been encouraged by the federal government to provide university student health centers and community health clinics with discounted contraceptives, thus allowing these health care providers to pass these savings along to university students and low-income women. This has allowed many women, regardless of income, to access vital pregnancy prevention methods and to improve their health.
Due to an inadvertent mistake in the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act (DRA), every university health center and many community health clinics were cut off from accessing discounted birth control through these drug company incentives. The result has caused birth control prices at these clinics to skyrocket to double, even triple, amounts. This crisis is estimated to affect more than 3 million college women and hundreds of thousands of low-income women.
HR 398 would help to return birth control prices to affordable levels for university students and low-income women by fixing the mistake in the DRA and restoring the ability for university health centers and community clinics to access discounted contraceptives from responsible drug companies.
UPDATE: On March 11, 2009, President Obama signed into law the FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations package (HR 1105), which – among other things – included no-cost, technical language to once again permit pharmaceutical companies to offer affordable contraceptives to all every university health center and many community family planning healthcare providers.
With this corrective language now in place, millions of U.S. women once again have access to preventive health care. Thank you to everyone who showed support for this important issue—your efforts paved the way to victory!
PPNT Position: Strongly Support - Millions of women around the U.S. are at risk of unintended pregnancy and serious health problems simply because they can no longer afford their birth control. Since January 1, 2007, birth control prices at college campuses and some health clinics has soared from $5 to over $50 for a month's supply of birth control. With the deepening economic crisis and rising cost of living, this increase in price is forcing millions of women to make difficult decisions regarding their personal health such as switching to a less effective method or foregoing the use of birth control altogether. HR 398 is a no-cost, common-sense, technical fix that aims to help more than 3 million low-income women and college students regain access to affordable birth control even in these severe economic downturn. An unintentional oversight by Congress should not continue to prevent a woman from taking care of her health and avoid an unintended pregnancy during a time when she may not be financially ready to raise a child.
Strongly Support - Millions of women around the U.S. are at risk of unintended pregnancy and serious health problems simply because they can no longer afford their birth control. Since January 1, 2007, birth control prices at college campuses and some health clinics has soared from $5 to over $50 for a month's supply of birth control. With the deepening economic crisis and rising cost of living, this increase in price is forcing millions of women to make difficult decisions regarding their personal health such as switching to a less effective method or foregoing the use of birth control altogether.
HR 398 is a no-cost, common-sense, technical fix that aims to help more than 3 million low-income women and college students regain access to affordable birth control even in these severe economic downturn. An unintentional oversight by Congress should not continue to prevent a woman from taking care of her health and avoid an unintended pregnancy during a time when she may not be financially ready to raise a child.
Latest Action: 1/14/09 - HR 398 introduced in House and referred to Energy and Commerce Committee. 3/11/09 - President Obama signed HR 1105, the FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill that contained corrective language similar to HR 398 restoring access to affordable birth control.
1/14/09 - HR 398 introduced in House and referred to Energy and Commerce Committee.
3/11/09 - President Obama signed HR 1105, the FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill that contained corrective language similar to HR 398 restoring access to affordable birth control.
Recorded Votes:
