Love may be a whirlwind, but even floating on cloud nine is not without its thunderstorms. An unplanned pregnancy can stymie a new couple’s bliss or prove a challenge to a couple that wants to wait before starting a family.
To help students avoid these scenarios, the University Health Center provides them with family planning services free of charge through the federally funded Family Planning Expansion Project.
In January 1999, Oregon’s Department of Human Services established FPEP to expand Medicaid coverage for family planning services. According to the State of Oregon’s Web site, 49 percent of pregnancies are unintended, and about 30 percent of those result in abortions.
FPEP aims to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies by providing free contraception to eligible men and women in Oregon.
Cindy Smith, a nurse practitioner at the health center, said FPEP allows students unlimited access to free contraception.
“The nice thing about the program is that people can come in for as many visits as they want,” she said. Smith added that it is important “that people leave with adequate contraception.”
Students can obtain one year’s worth of their choice of contraception.
FPEP provides an assortment of contraceptives, including prescriptions – the pill, shots, intrauterine devices (IUDs), among others – condoms and diaphragms. Plan B emergency contraception, also known as the morning after pill, is also available. While there is no limit to the number of times students can obtain Plan B, Smith said that physicians try to identify students’ contraceptive needs before writing a prescription for it.
“If they’re there for emergency contraception, we try to figure out if they need some other form of contraception,” Smith said.
While FPEP’s primary function is contraception distribution, it provides several other services. Eligible students can receive free pregnancy testing, annual examinations, sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening and urinary tract infection testing. However, students must come in for the purpose of obtaining contraception to receive these services for free under FPEP guidelines because preventing unintended pregnancy is the main objective of the program.
Dr. Ben Douglas, the health center’s medical director, said that male student response to FPEP has been very positive.
“Having FPEP creates a structure for men to have annual exams,” Douglas said. He added that many male students become aware of the FPEP services offered to them only after visiting the health center for another reason.
“General check-ups help them think about their overall health,” Douglas said.
FPEP’s services have restrictions. For example, FPEP will not cover non-symptomatic STI screening. Students cannot come in for frequent STI testing; they must show symptoms of an STI and must seek contraception in order to receive STI screening. Treatments and medications for infections are also not covered under FPEP, and certain tests, such as the test for herpes, which can be expensive, are not covered.
To qualify for FPEP, students must be U.S. citizens, Oregon residents and earn less than 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level income. Income level is determined by the student’s income, not their parents’. After obtaining eligibility, students are qualified to use FPEP services for one year, regardless of any changes in income level.
FPEP eligibility is also “site specific,” according to the health center’s Web site. If students switch to another clinic, they must re-apply for FPEP, which will then restart their year of eligibility. At any one site, after one year is up, students must renew their FPEP eligibility to continue receiving free services.
The health center sends all FPEP bills to students’ insurance companies before it sends them to FPEP. However, students can specify on their FPEP applications that the insurance company should not be billed.

Both Smith and Douglas said FPEP has been received well by University students. Smith, who has worked at the health center for about 10 years, has seen an increase in the number of students using the FPEP services.
“We see a lot more people,” she said. “I think the idea of getting a reasonable supply of contraception is appealing to people.”
Smith noted that before FPEP it was much harder for students to obtain free or low-cost contraception. Now, Smith said, “there is more continuity” because students are coming in for their annual reproductive health exams in addition to their usual headaches and colds.
Senior Lorie Miller, a second-term Peer Health Educator at the Health Resource Center, also praised FPEP.
“I’ve had a great experience with it,” she said. Miller said she is able to get all the contraception she needs, even IUDs, which can cost up to $600.
“Because of FPEP I got it for free,” said Miller. “For me, it’s pretty amazing.”
But junior Branden Johnson, who is also a second-term Peer Health Educator, pointed out that for gay students, access to FPEP’s free contraception services poses a problem.
“(FPEP) is a family planning service, so it’s very limited in its scope,” Johnson said. He added that because the purpose of the program is to prevent unintended pregnancies, gay students are at a disadvantage because there is no possibility of pregnancy from sex.
“You are still covered for the annual exam,” Johnson said, “but you can’t get free contraception.”
Johnson said many gay students feel forced to lie about their sexual orientation to get free contraception.
“I’m not going to lie about (being gay) just to get some free condoms,” Johnson said. While he recognized that FPEP is, as the name indicates, a family planning service, Johnson said not covering free contraceptives for gay students is a flaw in the program.
Still, Johnson agreed with Miller that FPEP provides a useful service to many University students.
Originally a five-year pilot program, FPEP was renewed in 2003 for an additional three years and is slated to expire at the University in October 2006. Douglas said that efforts to renew FPEP will be “a political lobby process,” and he hopes that in the future it can be made permanent.
“For what it does,” Douglas said, “I think it works well.”
For questions about FPEP, go to healthcenter.uoregon.edu or call Patricia Gregg at 346-2770.