Federal funding allows students free birth control
■ Students are now eligible for free family planning services
through the University Health Center, including contraceptives,
STD screening and pregnancy testing
By Kristina Johnson
Oregon Daily Emerald
For struggling students, piecing
together pocket change for the next
package of Top Ramen is hard
enough — forget about the next
package of birth control pills.
“Its really sad when somebody
has to choose between the pill and
groceries,” said Diane Duke, associ
ate executive director of the local
Planned Parenthood.
The University Health Center has
teamed up with Planned Parent
hood to remedy this problem.
The health center started offering
free family planning services in July
to students as part of the federally
funded Family Planning Expansion
Project, a five-year Medicaid pilot
project aimed at reducing teenage
pregnancy.
The health center administration
became interested in the project ear
lier this year when they noticed that
birth control prescriptions in their
pharmacy were dropping.
“We were losing students to
Planned Parenthood,” Health Cen
ter business manager Daralyn De
Haven-Murdoch said.
The local chapter of Planned Par
enthood, in its second year of fund
ing through FPEP, was providing
what the health center couldn’t —
free contraceptives, STD screening
and pregnancy tests.
In January, Planned Parenthood
agreed to let the health center “pig
gyback” on its FPEP funding, in part
because it was overwhelmed with
new clients from the program. Ac
cording to Duke, Planned Parent
hood’s client base shot up by 70 per
cent in the first year of the FPEP pro
gram and has continued to swell.
“We’re swamped,” Duke said.
“We’ve had to extend our hours to
evenings and Saturdays because of
this program.”
Duke estimates that one out of 10
visits to the Planned Parenthood
Family Planning Ex
pansion Project at the
Health Center
Free services
annual women’s gynecological
exam
pregnancy tests
pap smear follow-up
screening for urinary and reproduc
tive tract infections, including STDs
contraceptive counseling visits
Free contraceptives available
oral contraceptives (the pill)
Depo Provera
Norplant
male & female condoms
vaginal spermicides
emergency contraceptives (the
“morning after” pill)
cervical cap
diaphragm
IUD
For more information or to apply for
FPEP, contact the University Health
Center at 346-4441 or visit
www.healthcenter.uoregon.edu.
clinic is from students. She said she
hopes Planned Parenthood’s bur
den will shrink now that the health
center is providing free services.
“We’re hoping that students will go
there,” she said, pointing out that the
location is more convenient. “And
that's their health care provider. If I go
in [to the health center] for a sore
throat, it’s a one-stop shop. I can walk
out the door with 12 cycles of pills. ”
DeHaven-Murdoch agreed.
"A lot of students have a rapport
with practitioners here.” she said.
“They want to get all of their health
care in the same place. If we lost stu
dents to Planned Parenthood, we’re
hoping we’ll get them back now.”
She said the health center has al
ready seen 275 eligible students
since the program started in July,
and they’re gearing up for the swarm
of returning students in the fall.
At least 25 of the students they’ve
seen have been men, and she says
she hopes they will see more.
“A lot of programs are focused on
women, but this program focuses
on men as well,” she said. “They
can come in and have STD screen
ings, get free condoms or talk about
contraceptive management.”
Dr. Gerald Fleischli, medical di
rector of the University Health Cen
ter, said the FPEP program started
partly in reaction to the Clinton ad
ministration’s failure to pass univer
sal health care legislation. The gov
ernment has tried to compensate for
the failure, he said, by addressing
“certain targeted needs which they
see as priorities,” including vaccines
for children and family planning.
Before receiving binding from
FPEP, clinics like Planned Parent
hood operated on a sliding scale in
which a client’s fee was determined
by his or her income, Duke said.
She said even a modest fee deterred
Tom Patterson for the Emerald
Diane Duke, associate executive director of the local Planned Parenthood, said students
should not have to make ‘either-or’ decisions when it comes to family planning.
some people.
“The thing about FPEP islhat be
fore, even in student health centers,
the pill wasn’t completely free,” she
said. “When you take the barrier of
cost away, no matter how low... peo
ple are more likely to come in. This
one is easy because it’s self-reported
income. It’s for people at 180 percent
of the poverty rate and below.”
In Oregon, this translates into an
income of up to $1300 a month for
an unmarried person. Duke said the
idea is to catch people who don’t
qualify for the Oregon Health Plan
but can’t afford private health insur
ance. Students covered by their par
ents’ health insurance can still quali
fy, however. The application waives
requirements for students who don’t
want their visits to show up on their
parents’ insurance statements.
“Our goal,” Duke said, “is to offer
family planning to as many people
as possible.”
Duke said so far FPEP clients are
happy with the program — espe
cially women, who she said pay an
average of 68 percent of the costs of
birth control.
“We tell people their contracep
tives are free, and they’re thrilled,”
she said. “It’s like Christmas.”
The University Health Center is
located at 13th Avenue and Agate
Street. Women’s clinic appoint
ments can be made for Monday,
Wednesday and Thursday, 8:30 a.m.
to 3:50 p.m., and for Tuesday, 9 a.m.
to 3:50 p.m. General clinic appoint
ments are available the same times
— additional times are also avail
able Friday from 9 a.m. to 3:50 p.m.
No appointment is necessary on Sat
urday for a general clinic visit.
Urgent care is available at the
health center every day until 6 p.m.,
beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday and 10
a.m. Sunday, with an 8 a.m. start
time the rest of the week.
CHECK OUT
THE CAREER CENTER
Whether you’re a senior seeking a first career-track
job or a freshman looking at a career option, the
Career Center can help. It’s never too early or too
late to plan for success.
Career counseling
Job search workshops
On-campus interviews
Mentor program
Career expos
Summer jobs
• Part-time job listings
• Work-study jobs
• Career fairs
• Reference library
• Career decision classes
• Internship programs
Call us at: 346-3235
or
visit our web site at: uocareer.uoregon.edu
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