How Much California Students Pay For Abortion Pills Varies By Campus

California requires public universities to provide the abortion pill to students. But how much they pay for the medication differs dramatically by campus.

At California State University, Long Beach, students pay $52 for a medication abortion.

A few miles away at Cal Poly Pomona, it’s free.

For University of California students, the bill could be as high as $700.

So why do costs differ widely across the 33 universities? For the California State University system, it’s all down to how each of the 23 campuses spent $200,000 in private grant money. At the 10 University of California campuses, the cost of a medication abortion depends largely on whether a student chose the university’s health plan.

Most of the university websites do not list how much a student is charged for a medication abortion, if it’s mentioned at all.

What is the law?

California legislators in 2019 passed the law that requires all of the state's public university campuses to provide abortion pills. The law took effect in January 2023.

"We wanted to make sure that students, female students, had access to this right," said Connie Leyva, the former Pomona-area state senator who authored the law.

Public universities are supposed to make the pills as cheap as possible, if not free.

The Legislature created a $10.3 million fund of privately raised money to help universities implement the law. Each campus received $200,000 in one-time funding to pay for the medication and cover costs such as facility upgrades, equipment, training, telehealth services, and security upgrades.

State records show some universities spent their entire $200,000 grant on facility upgrades, leaving students to foot the bill for the medication.

“I'm not surprised, because I think that everybody's always looking to make a buck," Leyva said. "And college campuses are no different.”

How CSUs handle the costs

The state’s two public university systems have different approaches to health care on campus.

At California State Universities, students pay a fee — it’s part of their tuition — for access to the health centers and most basic services. Students are charged low costs out of pocket for some basic and specialty health care services, and the wholesale cost of medication.

The health centers do not make a profit.

“We have to be in alignment with other regulations about charging people fairly, so we can't just provide one service free and charge somebody else for another service,” said Rita O'Neill, director of Student Health and Wellness Services at Cal Poly Pomona.

The back page of a reproductive health flier distributed by Cal Poly Pomona, that included mention of medication abortion availability.

(

Courtesy Cal Poly Pomona

)

Hers is one of the campuses that chose to spend some of the grant money on medication, making it free for students — until the supply runs out.

“It’s not a high cost medication,” O’Neill said. “We decided that with the start-up money we would buy the first batch of the medication, I think 50 doses. We wanted to make sure we weren’t making a cost barrier.”

It’s a short term solution. Once the medication runs out, likely next year, Cal Poly Pomona will have to find other funding or charge students the wholesale cost of the medication, around $52.

Cal Poly Pomona political science major Alejandra Lopez said it would be hard to pay even that much if she needed a medication abortion.

“I’m a full-time student but I do have a part-time job and I get paid minimum wage, so $52 is basically a full shift,” Lopez said.

Fellow Cal Poly Pomona student Celina Robles said she wouldn’t have time to pick up another work shift to pay for a medication abortion if she needed the pills and her campus began charging for them.

“I’m a student, I work, I’m a mom so my budget is pretty tight,” said Robles, who is majoring in urban planning and design. “I utilize the pantry here, they give out free groceries every single week.”

She said she believes the medication should be free on all university campuses.

“It would feel easier and more supportive — if that happened I could just go get it done, I don’t have to come up with this money that I don’t have,” Robles said.

The Arthur Ashe Student Health & Wellness Center at the UCLA Campus.

(

Ashley Balderrama

/

LAist

)

At UC schools, pills can cost hundreds

University of California students are automatically enrolled in the system’s health insurance plan, known as UC SHIP. It covers most services offered at campus health centers, including medication abortions.

But students who stick with their own insurance — choosing to stay on their parents’ plan, for example — can be charged hundreds of dollars out of pocket for the abortion medication, the exam, and any related testing or referrals.

The university health centers do not bill any outside insurance providers, including MediCal, so the student would absorb the full cost of a medication abortion. Afterward, it’s up to the student to send an itemized bill to their insurance provider, who may or may not reimburse them, depending on their plan’s benefits.

UC administrators refused a recorded interview. Heather Harper, a UC Health spokesperson, noted in an email that some campuses have health grants that can help cover costs.

Students can’t apply for health grants until after they receive services, which could put them in a financially precarious position. If denied, students would then be on the hook to pay hundreds of dollars.

Some campuses require students to apply online. Others require applications in person. At some campuses, students have to demonstrate financial need to be eligible.

Margaret Trout, executive director of student health and counseling services at UC Davis, said no eligible UC Davis student has been denied a Health Equity Fund grant for their care since at least 2017.

LAist reporter Adolfo Guzman-Lopez contributed to this report.