Panic has been unleashed on campuses nationwide as a result of escalating prices of birth control at college health centers. The price spike, which I wrote about back in August, was "unintentionally" triggered by Bush's Federal Deficit Reduction Act. College health centers had previously bought contraceptives and other drugs at reduced prices from pharmaceutical companies. The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, which took effecting January 2007, eliminated the incentive for companies to sell discounted drugs to colleges.

As a result, college women, those at highest risk of unintended pregnancy and with little access to disposable cash, are now expected to shell out four, sometimes even six, times as much for prescription contraception. In Massachusetts, where full-time college students are required to have health insurance, public health officials are hoping women students will be able to get generic contraception at a reduced rate through insurance. But The Boston Globe today reports that this solution presents lots of barriers too,

Health advocates say that some students will not want to switch to generic birth control because of the potential for side effects. Another concern is that students may be allowed to buy only one month's supply of birth control pills at a time, rather than stocking up with several months' worth as they formerly could. "The likelihood of there being some gaps in usage will increase," said Karen Engall, director of Mount Holyoke's health services. Health officials also worry that some students will not use insurance to buy contraception because their parents see the pharmacy bills.

Another example of Bush's if-it-ain't-broke-then-break-it approach. The trend this year in college? Freshman fifteen and morning sickness.