University students face an increase in prescription birth control prices if their insurance does not cover it, officials at the University Health Center said.

Liz Rachun, health communications coordinator for the University, said the effect of the increase in birth control prices depends on whether insurance will help pay for prescriptions.

“The good news is that a lot of birth control pills are generic, and anyone who wants to get it covered by their insurance can get it for as low as $8-10,” Rachun said. “The bad news is that for those who don’t get it covered by their insurance, the price goes up and will probably continue to go up.”

The increase in prices resulted partly from the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, legislation that “includes new provisions . for the purpose of collecting Medicaid drug rebates from manufacturers for physician-administered drugs,” according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Web site.

As of January 2007, this law increased the price the University Health Center pays for birth control in bulk from pharmaceutical co-mpanies, Rac-hun said.

“We stockpiled a lot of our most popular brand of birth control, known as Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo, before the legislation took effect in January,” Rachun said. “And our supply should last through the rest of this year.”

Students can purchase this brand of birth control for $16 per month if bought in three-month increments, Rachun said.

And for the Health Center, “we’re not a for-profit medical center, and we try to keep prices as low as we possibly can,” she said.

Birth control pills have several uses, according to WebMd.com. “Besides preventing pregnancy, birth control pills have been shown to help make your periods more regular, decrease blood loss and painful periods (dysmenorrhea) and decrease your risk of ovarian cysts,” according to the Web site.