Originally Posted by kokosas

I write my exam tonight. After that I will be able to give more of my time to this. Adrian, have you sent off any emails yet?

nope, it's been hectic. I'll be doing that sometime this week though.

Originally Posted by adrian

nope, it's been hectic. I'll be doing that sometime this week though.

Kay, keep me in the loop and I'll do the same.

When I went to the campus health centre to renew my prescription, the nurse told me that they may start carrying birth control pills again in September, but that for now, they had no new stock left for the summer, since the companies didn't want to give them a discount during the summer.

Not really any new news, but does anybody know anything else about whether they'll actually be re-starting the cheap BCPs thing in September?

That's interesting news... I have to make an appointment sometime next week so I'll be sure to ask then

I emailed the SRA for my program(engineering). Awaitng a response

Received a very friendly reply. Apparently the issue will be discussed today. Awaiting a result.

I just spoke with the nurse today and she said what I had assumed; the manufacturer is no longer willing to sell it to them at a reduced rate and so they can't sell it at a reduced rate. I'm not sure if anything can be done about it.

that blows. And I'm assuming that theres only one manufacturer...

There are only a few large pharmaceutical companies, yes.

And in case you can't tell (from this or other things they do)...they're jerks

Originally Posted by DannyV

SHEC should partner up with the Stag Shop and have a "fun condom" sale

Hey everyone,
As the SHEC coordinator for 09-10, i wanted to let you guys know that SHEC will be offering a lot more this year. We just got an order of many different types of Condoms from Lifestyles including, ultra sensitive, her pleasure, studded, and ribbed.

In terms of the Campus Health birth Control issue, SHEC and the MSU as a whole is aware of the situation and is currently working on a solution. We're gonna look into providing campus health with our stats on Student Birth control use to show them that it's in demand. We might also start up a petition. And we're definatly looking into wheather there's any way SHEC can provide discounted birth control.

If you do have any ideas on what we can do, or have any questions about the issue, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] .

Also, please remember that SHEC provides many other forms of contraceptives such as condoms and VCF. And feel free to stop by the centre to get more information on other forms of birth control that are cheap and easily accessible.

From what my doctor has told me, the drug companies aren't making enough money on their non-generic pills anymore so they can't offer them to Campus Health at the same low prices. That's pretty much all I could get out of them.

Sorry if someone already said this, I didn't really want to sort through all the other crap going on in here.

Virona : ) Are you still a PHE next year?

An update from the MSU Website!

"Over the summer months, the MSU has been involved in discussion with the Campus Health Centre regarding the dispensing of oral contraceptives. Campus Health has decided to cease the oral contraceptive program for the foreseeable future. The MSU has made it very clear that this is unacceptable to the students of McMaster University. Students are paying more than ever to the University and it is of concern that certain departments are cutting the amount of services that they had previously offered.

The MSU has offered multiple alternatives and support solutions, however we have not received positive feedback on these fronts. As a result, the MSU is expecting to meet with Student Affairs (the division in which the Campus Health Centre is under) to attempt to resolve the issue. Should the matter not be resolved soon, the MSU will be seeking the support and contribution from all its members to identify and express their concerns on the matter. Below were some commonly asked questions regarding this issue which have been kindly brought forth by the Silhouette

What am I already paying for?

Students pay a mandatory $53.39 fee to subsidize the operations of the Campus Health Centre located in the basement of the Student Centre. This fee allows the Health Centre to run a few core functions that include health awareness and promotional campaigns, a walk in-clinic and previously, the dispensing of low cost oral contraceptives. Students do NOT have to opportunity to opt-out of this fee. As of now, the Campus Health Centre has ceased their dispensing practices even though students continue to pay the same fees.

Why did they stop?

Campus Health has stated on their website that “The CHC is no longer able to purchase many brands of birth control pills at a reduced cost. As health care providers, out primary interest must be in prescribing the most appropriate medication for each individual.”

In our opinion, although the CHC can no longer offer birth control pills at the same rate they previously charged, they still have the opportunity to charge a rate lower than that of pharmacies and other private clinics. This is because they are labelled as a family dispensing centre and thus are given a deal on the birth control they purchase. Students should understand that even with rising prices, the CHC can still offer a reduced price on birth control when compared to other establishments.

Can they stop? - Are they not a student service?

Campus Health would say that they are not ceasing to provide any services, rather they are just cutting out one of their core operations. As students pay $53.39 to the University to provide all their core operations, it does not seem appropriate that they can cut some of their practices without reducing the fees that students pay.

Was this a matter of Campus Health losing money, or not making enough?

After discussion, the Campus Health Centre advised the MSU that they were incurring losses on this service.
Although it is not in the best interest of any institution to lose money, the CHC is funded by student fees, which should in turn subsidize some of those losses. In our mind, it is irrelevant whether or not the Centre realizes marginal losses or gains on one of its operations. From the perspective of the MSU, students pay for the service - which means the CHC has a responsibility to make it work. These losses should be recuperated by the contribution that every student makes through their ancillary fees. If the mandate for the Health Centre was to make money on its core functions, then why do students continue to pay $53.39 to keep the Centre running?

If you have any additional questions regarding the MSU’s stance, please email your SRA representative or any of the Board of Directors. Furthermore, should you feel strongly on the matter, please visit the Campus Health Centre, or call them at 905-525-9140 ext. 27700 to voice your concerns."

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So I guess alot of us here forgot that we are actually paying a very good amount of money to SHEC. It is an amount that alot of us won't even avail(eg: All my medical concerns I had last year had either been solved by over the counter pills or have been covered by my varsity physio insurance).

The only thing of value I see is a drop in clinic, but then again people have other options for that or they might visit a family doctor on the weekends :S Plus if people have serious health issues won't they go to a bigger hospital and see a specialist?

Can someone correct me? If SHEC is failing to provide people with contraceptives what exactly does its budget(which is funded by both direct student fee allocation and indirect funding from the Student Affairs section of the admin) cover?

From a rough calculation they have around 56* 21,000= $1,176,000 per year from direct student money. But they key word here is that students subsidize it, they don't fund it 100% the rest I assume comes from Student Affairs.

^ I have gone into the clinic many, many, many times. I ended up going to the drop-in clinic everytime I was sick, which was very often this year, or everytime I needed a check up, or a new prescription for something. I've gotten all sorts of tests there. I prefer the doctors there to any other family doctors I've had elsewhere. Until quite recently I was also getting cheap contraceptives. I am happy with paying the fee, because I feel like I have gotten a lot out of it. But I agree that if we are paying that fee, we should expect to be able to get everything (including cheap contraceptives) that we intend our money to go to.

Huzaifa, I think you are a little mixed up. SHEC is not the one cutting services, it is Campus Health.
Campus Health is a University run service, SHEC is an MSU run service. They are two very different things.