By Ryan Martin

Two similar bills in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate would restore a discount to student health centers by adding them to the list of providers that could obtain and sell birth control prescriptions at reduced rates.

But MU students might not see the discount, University Hospital and Clinics officials said.

The Prevention Through Affordable Access Act was introduced to the Senate on Nov. 13 by Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. There are 26 cosponsors on the bill, including Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.

It aims to fix an oversight in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 that excluded student health centers from the list of providers with access to the reduced prices, McCaskill spokeswoman Maria Speiser said.

Related legislation was introduced to the House on Nov. 1 by Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y. Missouri Representatives Russ Carnahan, William Clay and Emanuel Cleaver, all Democrats, are among the bill’s 135 cosponsors.

Planned Parenthood, a family planning clinic that offers reproductive health services, is working to provide assistance on this legislation, said Michelle Trupiano, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri.

“College students don’t have a lot of money, and if it comes down to eating or birth control, there’s a high risk of unintended pregnancy,” Trupiano said. Read more..

Related:

MOPNS: Planned Parenthood Applauds McCaskill for Making Birth Control “Affordable” for College Students

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