Seriously, has anyone ever turned down a chance for an amazing deal? My heart races when friendly baristas bump me up to a grande. I live for product samples at beauty and health expos.  And don’t even get me started on my quests for cheap and chic clothes at the thrift store. Maybe the best things in life can’t always be on the house, but it’s great when they’re affordable. President Obama and his administration realize that too.

On Friday, March 16, the Obama Administration issued a few clarifications to the Affordable Care Act’s consumer protections for student health plans. Are you scratching your head? Let me make it simple—beginning in the fall, all out-of-pocket birth control costs will be covered (meaning no copays or deductibles) by most* of the health insurance plans sold to students by their college or university. Of course, your student insurance plan isn’t free—you still have to pay a premium—but with the new policy eliminating those extra costs at the clinic or pharmacy, I think it’s a pretty good deal. And if you’re still on your parents’ insurance (which, also courtesy of the Affordable Care Act, can now cover you until you turn 26!), you may also get this benefit—though for some, it might not be until January 1^st of next year. Eventually, almost all health insurance plans will do the same thing.

This is a relief because birth control can be pretty costly. The patch can cash in at $55 while the pill may run you a monthly $25. According to the Center for American Progress, some methods can cost as much as $1,200 a year without insurance. It’s no secret that college costs are pocket drainers—with rising tuition, books, meal plans and housing. With the new coverage of contraceptives, students can pocket that cash and put it towards something useful (like a nice tip for your DJ at drunkaoke – or, you know, that bio textbook you’ve been saving up for).

So there it is. No more excuses for slip ups or Sunday morning regrets! And that, my friends, is priceless in itself.

*Note: Some religiously affiliated colleges and universities may be allowed to take up to a year to put these changes in practice.

[Lead image via Brooke Becker / Shutterstock]

Mike and Pauly: Bankrolling the health care bill?

The health care bill passed this week (Liberals: Yay! Conservatives: Booooooo!), and after all the proverbial dust had settled (and all that really mature name-calling came to a screeching halt) we were left wondering:

How are we going to pay for this?
It’s gonna cost some serious money to provide insurance for all those uninsured people in this country, so where is it all going to come from?

Apparently, the Jersey Shore.

Yeah, most people don’t realize this, but to cover the cost of the new health care plan the government will now be charging is a 10% tax on indoor tanning.

Now most of you who grew up with moms who slathered sunscreen on you until you looked like the albino monk in The Da Vinci Code and read every magazine article about the dangers of tanning with the gross pictures of moles you should check out know that this seems to be a logical way to hurt the “evil” tanning industry.  To me, this makes sense – tanning is as bad for you as cigarettes, so why not tax it like cigarettes?

But many people (like my super pale friends who argue they need a “base tan” before Spring Break….and class, or the entire state of New Jersey) disagree. And they’re all getting pretty pissed off about this tax.

Is this the right way to go? Should the strippers/Guidos/indoor-tanners of this country be responsible to pay for everyone else’s health insurance? Could this cause even more harm in our already fragile economy? Or is this saving those tan-aholics from themselves?

Should everyone make like Pauly D and purchase their own tanning beds?

So many questions.
What do you think about the new tax?

But I’m also really excited for 2010! And not just the super adorable outfit I have picked out for NYE. A new year (and a new freaking decade!) brings a fresh start and new adventures. It’s a chance to say “TTFN” to the bad – like Tila Tequila, my muffin top, and Hipsters with skinnier legs than me – and “Holla back at me” to the new. Like a working economy, perhaps? Gay marriage? Fat free, calorie free Dairy Queen Blizzards? A girl can dream.

As we creep dangerously close to 2010, I asked the CollegeCandy writers what they are most excited to leave behind in ’09. What about you? Share yours below!

Kim – Stanford: I cannot wait to leave behind the drama that is Tiger Woods. Why is everyone so shocked that a very rich and successful pro-athlete who travels all the time cheated on his wife? That’s just obvious.

Teresa – UCSD: My fake ID!

Megan – Penn State: Definitely the crappy boys of 2009. Hopefully 2010 brings me no heart-breakers or creepers!

Erica – Kent State: Working at the Financial Aid office in the file room at 9 a.m.–ALONE– four out of five mornings of the school week.  Pure torture.

Thu – USC: My home! I’m studying abroad!

Lauren – University of Michigan: Well, I’d like to say the extra junk in my trunk but that ish is clearly coming with me into 2010 (stuffed into some Spanx, of course), so I’ll just go with Speidi. Something’s gotta happen to them soon, right?

Samantha – UC Santa Barbara: Girl drama! The only drama I want is what I’m watching on my trashy reality shows!

Sara C-Fordham: I am hoping, HOPING, that we as a society can come together and abandon the cultural practice of auto-tune in music. It’s just wrong.

Brittany – University of St.Thomas: What am I excited to leave behind in 2009? Between pictures of Michael Lohan yelling in gossip magazines everywhere and Jon Gosselin’s mysteriously sunburned face it is tough to make one decision. But if I had to choose, let us please leave Kristen Stewart behind! If I see her bite her lip or breath loudly on cinematic screen again I may self-combust.  Rest assured, I would not mind if casting replaced Stewart with a Bella that didn’t complain about how famous she is and smirk at how often she gets to stand next to Taylor Lautner. Ugh, see ya never, Kristen Stewart!

Emmy – Loyola University Chicago: CALCULUS!!! Never ever again.

Caitlin – University of Alabama: I’m excited to leave behind a year of serious health problems! Hopefully 2010 will be a year filled with good health-and yay for new health insurance!

Sarabeth – University of Texas: I’m holding out hope that this whole Twitter fad will go away in 2010.

Charlsie – Hollins University: I’m most excited to leave behind this past semester of graduate school applications, GREs, 20 page papers, and insane amounts of work.

Ricki – University of Michigan: I signed up for this class that prides itself on assigning 15 page papers.  I am so ready to leave behind teachers who don’t care that I have a life.

Kelly – Simmons College: Lindsay Lohan being a drugged-out mess. Come on girl; get it together in 2010!

Anna R. – Northeastern University: I’m so excited to leave school for 8 months! I’m doing an internship in NYC from January to June. I also can’t wait to leave behind my last year of being under 21.

Carly – Grinnell: Cannot wait to leave behind the one month of bitter cold winter we’ve had so far in the Midwest. Three more months of it is three too many!

Yeah, that's my life savings right there.

Because I’m making six pennies a year in my job after taxes, I follow a very strict budget that allows me to afford a moderate amount of food and a moderate amount of fun. There is no room for a savings plan in my budget so I just figured if I was extra careful nothing would ever go wrong.

Then last week everything went wrong.

I spilled sangria (or water according to the troubleshooting report I made to Apple) on my laptop, I dropped my straightener one time too many and it broke, and I found out my parent’s insurance company is onto me no longer being a student and has dropped me. For those of you non-accounting majors out there, that’s about 5 billion dollars worth of problems.

I had a minor panic attack. And by minor I mean I opened my window, stood on the ledge for a few moments, and thought about who I would haunt if I came back as a ghost. Then logic hit me and I realized that because I’m only one floor up I would just break a bunch of bones, sending me to the hospital and making my lack of insurance problem even worse.

So instead of jumping I thought of my other options. Luckily my grandparents who live in the city had a laptop I could borrow until I figured you out what to do about my laptop-turned-coaster. Unluckily it was designed for the partially blind. I’ve seen desktop computers more portable than this laptop. Hell, I’ve seen elephants smaller than this thing. The screen was about a football field long and the font was visible from space. This proved to be more than an inconvenience when I was blogging at WiFi cafes.  I was writing about STDs for one blog and let’s just say the employees at the cafe did not enjoy being able to read about gonorrhea while serving coffee. So not only did I have to blog from home all week, but I’m pretty sure I’m on a sex offender list now.

Which might have worked out better anyway considering my straightener situation. I can’t live without it  (or go into public places) because my hair’s naturally a combination of straight, curly, frizzy, and balding. Right now I have the iron permanently turned on hoping it’s just messing with me and still works. While I have no patience for a straighter with a sense of humor, I would take it if it means running those two hot plates of heaven through my unruly mane.

And as far as health insurance goes, well, it’s hard to get sick when you’re not leaving the house, right? And if I somehow do catch the Swine Flu, I’ll just steal someone’s identity who has insurance and load up on the meds.

In the meantime I’ll have to consider starting some kind of plan for saving. And by that I mean working on my pick-pocketing skills… or selling this laptop by the pound.

I got a job!!!

All my tears, temper tantrums, panic attacks, stress-induced friend fights, and violent rages towards my parents turned out to be totally worth it. I’m on my way to getting a full time job. And by that I mean that I’m now working three freelance blogging jobs and making enough money to support myself for at least one to three months depending on how long I can sustain myself on a water and table scraps diet.

One blog is about the postgrad realty market, one is geared towards men’s humor, and the last is all about liberating and embracing a woman’s sexuality. So by the time I get done with a week of writing all three, I’ll be the only certified realtor that can make hilarious fart jokes while imparting the seriousness of bra burning. If that’s not a pick-up line in a bar, then cat’s got my tongue (I’m aiming to write for a blog entirely composed of idioms if anyone’s got a lead).

I excitedly told my grandparents over a dinner of boiled chicken and broth to which they responded with little to no enthusiasm, can you write that much? I immediately answered yes, of course I can write that much. However I started to question myself; am I capable of actually writing several different blogs? I mean this blog is easy. I just have to write about myself and truth be told it’s been a phenomenal therapy system for me since graduation. All I have to do is share my feelings and then the commenters provide the tough love solutions.

I’ve spent the last few months telling everyone that I aspire to be a fulltime blogger and now that it’s kinda starting to happen, I’m kinda starting to freak out. I have to really be an adult and create a schedule for myself. No more sleeping in until noon and spending my days sitting on a park bench insulting tourists in my head as they walk by in their heinous sneaker-dress combo outfits. No more half-assing work because I’m an unpaid intern. This is the real thing.

Then again, perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself and this freelance blogging is a good intro to the real world of working. I’ll be waking up earlier, dressing myself nicer (I’m pretending like it’s a REAL job), and perhaps start looking into getting some of that health insurance everyone’s been talking about.

The best part of getting these jobs is that next week when I go back to school for homecoming I won’t even have to lie about having a job. I just have to keep the bragging to a minimum about having three.

The week the White House launched a website called Reality Check, obviously aimed at the younger “internet set” to voice its side of the story on Obama’s healthcare reform and answer some of the questions that have arisen. This is one of those issues that I’ve heard about all. over. the place. But the sad truth is, I haven’t been listening much, and either have a lot of other people our age. It suddenly occurred to me that I have heard an awful lot about what our parents and grandparents think on the issue, but next to nothing on it from girls like me.

Are you all like me and just not paying attention, or is it just that we aren’t talking it out?

Well here’s your chance, ladies. If you don’t know what’s going on, it’s time to get informed. If you do, well, duke it out. I want to know what you all think.

But first, we all gotta know what’s up. If you’ve been a little lax in your news watching (like me) or if you just love legalese, here’s the official barackobama.com PDF on the healthcare reform plan. Now, if you weren’t patient enough to wade through all of that (because who is?), I’ve slogged through a lot of the recent news on both sides and here’s the gist:

On the “pro” side: The Obama plan addresses some of the big problems with healthcare right now – the high costs, the hoops doctors and patients have to jump through, the big money insurance companies make at the public’s expense and the way that the poor get the worst level of healthcare (if they’re lucky enough to get any at all). The Obama plan, it seems, would create an option where the government would help subsidize certain qualifying insurance plans to make them more affordable for everyone, particularly low-income people who can’t afford insurance now.

There have been a number of assurances that the new program would be strictly voluntary, particularly aimed at those without healthcare now. And there are plenty of modern countries, like the UK, that have government run healthcare systems, which many argue are more effective than our own. Even in the US, many note, government-run systems like Medicare do a better job of providing care than private HMOs, which could be a strong point for a bureaucratically based system, as well as the heavier regulations that would come along with government control.

Perhaps the biggest point on the the “pro” list is the basic fact that our current system just isn’t working. Community hospitals have had a hard time in the last few years, with many going bankrupt and being replaced by for-profit facilities that do much less for lower-income groups. Many healthcare workers have lost jobs and both the cost of procedures and the amount of time it takes to get them approved and covered has only gone up.

On the “con” side: The details are still a little sketchy on how exactly things would work with the plan due in large part to the fact that the program actually only exists in the form of several different drafts, leaving a lot of important facets to the reform left to be nailed down.

Some say that the system for funding the $1 trillion program (a major expenditure in still difficult economic times) would probably backfire and end up with the middle-class footing most of the bill. It also seems likely that those who can already afford healthcare would hold onto their superior plans, with many doctors catering to them, leaving those with the government subsidized plan with mediocre coverage and facilities once again.

There are also many who balk at the level of government control that would be involved, even suggesting that certain healthcare rights might be lost in the program, and no one wants that. Despite assurance that no one will be forced to use the government plan, there’s a big question about how government subsidized insurance can co-exist with a for-profit plan. The government plan would almost necessarily undercut the current insurance companies (otherwise, it’s existence would be pointless), potentially causing the for-profit companies to fail and ultimately pushing everyone into the subsidized insurance - in direct opposition with what they seem to be trying to do.

Finally, one of the big beefs about the current bill is that it has been put together very quickly and is intended to be pushed through in just weeks with very little concrete information out there about what exactly the whole affair is about.

Obviously there’s still a lot of questions up in the air right now and the Obama administration has been criticized from both sides about how poorly the information about the new bill has been distributed. Maybe the new website will help, but it looks like many of the major news sources have already cast their vote against the effort. Still, with the current healthcare system taking some hard hits, it’s obvious something needs to be done.

So what do you think ladies? Am I getting it all wrong? Is the new healthcare reform a good idea? The best of a bunch of bad ideas? Or just a bad idea altogether?

Are fanny packs back?

What’s the deal with BJs?

Kim Kardashian sees marriage in her future.

Celebrity Twitter overkill.

Miss California’s got Sarah Palin in her corner.

We took the embarrassment (and speculum!) factor out of the equation and asked you, the CollegeCandy readers, to submit the questions you had regarding STDs and sexual health to our new pal, OB/GYN Dr. Lissa Rankin. Check out the first batch of questions she answered and get the rest of the info below:

1. If you have a high risk strain of HPV and so does your current partner, will my chances of it progressing to cervical cancer increase if we do not use a condom, and just use birth control? I am positive he is also monogamous.

Bummer about the HPV, but rest assured, you’re so not alone. As many as 80% of sexually active young people will test positive for HPV, even in the absence of symptoms.  If you and your partner already have a high risk strain of HPV and you’re both completely monogamous, using a condom probably won’t help you unless there are other strains of HPV or other STDs that the two of you have not already transmitted to each other.  Whether or not your high risk HPV leads to precancerous changes of the cervix, or worse, cervical cancer, has much more to do with how well your immune system functions.  The best thing you can do to avoid cervical cancer once you have high risk HPV is to eat a whole foods, healthy diet, exercise regularly, get enough sleep, take a multivitamin, manage your stress in healthy ways, and generally take good care of your body – all things that strengthen your immune system.  If you have access to an integrative medicine physician or a naturopathic doctor, there are herbal formulas that can help your body naturally fight the HPV. 

2. I would like to get a general STD test. However, I’m on a budget. I don’t want to spend money on a test because my mom will probably find out, and if I use my insurance my mom will probably find out! What can I do?
You can call your local public health clinic. Most offer free, anonymous STD testing, so your mother never needs to know (although, as a Mom myself, I highly encourage you to talk to your mom if you have a good relationship. You might be surprised how much we moms want to help, if we can get over our own embarrassment. Sometimes we need a good kick in the pants from our kids.)  Also, if you don’t have access to a public health clinic, donate blood. They won’t test for everything (like gonorrhea, chlamydia, or HPV), but it’s free, and you will be screened automatically for all blood-borne STD’s, such as HIV, hepatitis B & C, and syphilis.  If anything comes back abnormal, they will contact you to let you know.

3. What are the options for testing and the costs? Can you get anonymously tested?
There are many STDs, such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, syphilis, hepatitis B and C, HIV, herpes, HPV, trichomonas, and pubic lice (crabs).  For most of them, you can be tested, through blood tests, urine or cervical testing, or visual inspection, depending on the type of STD.  Costs vary depending on the facility and your insurance coverage.  If you have health insurance, testing is covered much of the time.  If not, you can usually get free, anonymous testing at your local public health clinic.  But remember that peace of mind (and good health) is money well spent.

4. Is it okay to lie to your doctor with the famous “How many partners have you had” question?
As one of those doctors, I’m reluctant to say, “Sure, go ahead!  Lie to your doctors!”  After all, we’re here to be your friend, confidante, health-partner, and advisor – not a judge or the morality police.  That said, let me try to answer your question very honestly.  What we’re really looking for is a sense of how much risk you’ve assumed in your sexual life.  If you tell me you’ve had 101 partners by the time you’re 19, I’m gonna assume you haven’t been uber-careful, and I’m going to look very carefully for the kinds of health issues that accompany high risk behaviors.  (Not to mention, I’m going to worry about your self-esteem and wonder why you might be needing so much external validation, when the only place you can really find it is within).

On the other hand, if you tell me that you’ve only had one or two partners, it changes how I will care for you.  And if you’re nineteen and you’ve never had intercourse, it makes a big difference. I probably won’t even subject you to a pap smear yet, since, unless you’re having problems, you really don’t need one until you’re either 21 or sexually-active, whichever comes first.

But whether you’ve had 6 or 8 partners?  Whether you’ve had 23 or 31 partners?  To be honest, it really isn’t that important.  So if you’ve only told your boyfriend about 4 of your partners and there’s this one other you don’t want to admit to your doctor in front of him, go ahead and lie.  (Yikes, I can’t believe I just said that!)  But keep it in the ballpark.  That way we can optimize the kind of health care we provide for you.  But don’t bother wracking your brain to make sure you get the number exactly right.

It’s not like a “before” and “after” picture. You don’t just walk into a surgeon’s office and - VOILA! - perfect boobs. Just getting to the actual surgery was a long process.]

I was a late bloomer and I can’t remember a time when I was ever “in-between.” During my sophomore year of high school, I suddenly went from not having to wear a bra to being one of the chestiest girls in my school. Might sound cool, right? Nah. I couldn’t play my favorite sports anymore, I never found tops that fit me properly and, oh yeah, have you ever met boys in high school? They’re not so subtle about pointing out your rack.

My parents and I discussed breast reduction in high school, but I wasn’t ready. Last year, I decided I was ready at age 19 and a sophomore in college. My breasts had gotten even larger after going on birth control and my spine felt like it was about to snap.

The “leg work” for the surgery was tough. I talked to my general practitioner and she agreed that it was a good idea. I got some great references through my doctor and my family’s doctor and eventually found a good surgeon. I went in for a consultation and connected fairly quickly with the plastic surgeon. He explained the procedure and the pros and cons.

My surgeon also warned me (upon me asking, “So will they look better? Are the scars going to be ugly?”): Breast reduction is NOT a cosmetic surgery, it is a corrective surgery. If you’re going into the surgery for “prettier” boobs, you might want to rethink your decision.

The consultation went well and I learned a lot about the actual surgery. Although I did get a bit weirded out when they took a picture of my ta-tas (not including my face, thank goodness) and mailed them and a letter of recommendation to my insurance company.

My reduction was approved very quickly by my insurance and then it was a waiting game until the day of the procedure. I was more and more excited each day, except when it came to the actual surgery. I started to doubt my decision and got a little neurotic about everything that could go wrong: first biggest fear? Not waking up from anesthesia. Second biggest fear? Losing a nipple (it happens!).

All that worrying was for nothing, though; I finally had my surgery about four weeks ago and I couldn’t be happier. I’m still healing – and some days are harder than others – but it’s a decision that I’m glad I made. It was perfect for me and may just be right for you. Just make sure to do the research and know exactly what you are getting yourself into.

And never, ever envy a girl with DD boobs; they aren’t as fun as you’d think.

But you know what?  I disagree with those stories.

I think life is what you make it. I think that if you want to be happy, you will find a way to be happy. I think that if you’re meant to be in college, you will study hard and learn and enjoy it along the way.

I’m 24 and my twenties have been my favorite part of my life so far. Granted, I’m constantly trying to have the best time of my life, so I’ll probably be bouncing off the same sentiments when I’m 40, too…but what’s wrong with that?

There are some things about being a twenty-something that have hit me hard. For example:

Unlike a lot of my friends, I had to work 2 jobs through college.

I didn’t sleep more than 4 hours a night while in college.

I spent my freshman year literally starving because I didn’t have any money.

Since college, I have lost jobs.

I have lost roommates.

I have lost childhood best friends.

I have been betrayed by people I thought were my friends.

I have had to take out loans.

I have had my heart broken. Repeatedly.

I have been sick and learned to deal with it without health insurance.

On the other hand, the great things about my twenties have totally outweighed those negative things.

I have learned the value of a good work ethic.

I have learned to value sleep, now that I have it.

I have learned to appreciate food, now that I can afford it.

I have learned to be grateful for my job.

I’ve learned to love my roommates.

I have made some new best friends that have changed my life.

I have maintained my loyalty to my friends, despite how it’s burned me in the past.

I have taken pride in my ability to pay back my loans.

I have learned to heal a broken heart. Repeatedly.

I have learned to take care of myself.

In conclusion, I’ve been having a blast. Sure, things haven’t been handed to me on a silver platter the last six years, but it’s all been part of the process. Over all, even during the hard times, I have had a blast and I have never stopped appreciating my freedom.

Your twenties will likely challenge and push you, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

[photo from: bgccapo.com]