We arenâ??t allowed to get the medication at the low price we used to.

Due to changes in federal regulations, the price of birth control products will be significantly increased at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Norris Health Center officials said.

We arent allowed to get the medication at the low price we used to, said Julie Bonner, Norris Health Center director.

In the past, prescription medication manufacturers were given incentives to allocate discounts to universities and colleges, according to the letter from the American College Health Association (ACHA).

However, President Bush signed into effect the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, which eliminated those deductions and left students to pay higher prices.

They do prohibit the manufacturer from exempting these sales from the calculation of their best price, resulting in a financial disincentive to extend nominal pricing to student health centers, the ACHA wrote in a letter to members.

According to Bonner, the average price of birth control products at Norris is now $8. By next semester it will be up to $45.12 for TriCyclen Lo, an oral contraceptive, and $34.27 for the NuvaRing, a vaginal contraceptive.

Bonner said this will particularly affect nontraditional older students who arent eligible to remain on their parents health plan.

The new prices have already gone into effect with manufacturers. However when Norris found out about the increase, they stocked up on prescriptions, Bonner said. They also limited prescription pickups to only two packs at a time.

But for students willing to switch to generic brands, there will still be affordable options. Apri is currently priced at $11.58 and Velivet is $15.07, according to a letter to students from the Norris Health Center.

A lot of individuals have already shifted to what we offer at a lower price, but that can be a challenge since no two pills have the same two side effects, Bonner said. Its a shame to make them change a prescription thats working well.

The ACHA is trying to work with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services to allow pharmaceutical manufacturers to provide nominal prices for universities, said Mary Hoban, staff liaison for the ACHA advocacy committee.

If the center does not approve a change in the Deficit Reduction Act, Hoban said it would have to go through a separate legislative process for universities to again be able to receive discounts.

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