Community college students face unique cost and coverage barriers to accessing contraception, but policy changes can help.
A new policy brief from Beyond the Pill and the Institute for Women’s Policy Research examines barriers to healthcare and contraceptive access for community college students and proposes policy recommendations to improve contraceptive affordability and availability. The brief draws on data from Beyond the Pill’s REACH Youth study, which surveyed over 2,000 community college students aged 18–25 in California and Texas, two states representing contrasting policy environments.
Study findings outlined in the brief show that insurance status and cost of services affect students’ ability to seek care and prevent them from using their preferred method of contraception. However, students’ knowledge and use of publicly funded contraceptive services is low, with nearly two-thirds of Texas students not knowing where to get free or low-cost contraception. Furthermore, students, especially the uninsured, face barriers to using telemedicine for contraception, despite its potential for improving access. The REACH Youth study found that only 6% overall and 3% of uninsured students across both states used telemedicine to obtain contraception.
On a policy level, funding to Title X, loopholes and inconsistent implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and variability in state policies impact contraceptive access and affordability and prevent students from getting care and affordable access to their preferred methods.
Despite these barriers, the brief highlights the following potential solutions and policy recommendations to improve access for students:
- Increasing funding to reproductive health programs, especially Title X and community college health initiatives.
- Improve insurance coverage and reduce cost barriers by protecting and expanding Medicaid in all states and enacting policies that ensure zero out-of-pocket costs for all contraceptive methods.
- Ensure affordable access via telehealth and pharmacies, including coverage guarantees for over-the-counter oral contraceptives and insurance coverage of telehealth services.
Ensuring affordable, equitable access to contraception is just one pillar of improving reproductive autonomy for young people. However, implementing these policy recommendations is an important step in addressing some of the unique challenges faced by community college students in accessing fundamental reproductive health services.