In 2019, the Princeton U-Store pharmacy closed its doors permanently, forcing students to turn to OptumRx mail orders and other commercial pharmacies to fill their prescriptions. The on-campus pharmacy provided students with reliable, responsive, and convenient access to prescription medication. With University Health Services (UHS) moving into the newly-finished Frist Health Center, now is the perfect time to re-integrate the pharmacy back into Princeton’s health offerings.
Mail order prescriptions are inadequate to students as an alternative to an on-campus pharmacy. They are filled every 90 days, and while this may be sustainable for long-term, steady prescriptions, those in need of emergency or non-regular prescriptions are left by the wayside. Last November, an increase in pneumonia cases rendered student athletes unable to compete and left other students scrambling, contorting their midterm schedules to work around their recovery time.
Moreover, these 90-day supplies often do not provide the flexibility that some prescriptions require when figuring out dosages. Medications like gender-affirming hormone treatment and antidepressants, for example, cannot simply be taken on a 90-day prescription in the beginning. Their dosages must be altered depending on the body’s responses to these initial dosages, and a 90-day supply does not allow for this.
Even in-person pharmacies — like the CVS on Nassau Street and the Walgreens in the town of Princeton — are not viable replacements for an on-campus pharmacy, despite their more flexible prescription offerings. As private corporations, they are subject to insurance politics and create further complications for students. Although the Student Health Plan (SHP) includes the nearby CVS as an option, not all Princeton students are part of the SHP, and it’s likely that some Princeton students have incompatible insurance, as CVS does not take all insurance.
An on-campus pharmacy at Princeton would, ideally, work to cover the needs of every student, not just the ones on the SHP. If additional insurance plans arise that a potential University pharmacy wouldn’t accept, the process for a single entity — the University — to begin accepting such a plan would be far simpler than for a multi-billion dollar corporation like CVS to do so. As students, our energy should be dedicated to our academic pursuits, not figuring out where we can pick up medicine or filling out paperwork to get it.
I myself have experienced the inconvenience of the CVS on Nassau, where I was unable to receive a prescription refill for four days after my supply expired. Although this medication was not essential to my health, the inconsistency of CVS’s communication made the process of receiving my prescription infuriating. I eventually transferred the prescription to a different pharmacy, abandoning the effort at the Nassau CVS altogether.
All this to say: the current prescription solutions available to us as Princeton students do not meet our needs fully. All of our options are lacking in some capacity. An on-campus pharmacy integrated directly with University Health Services — housed in the new Frist Health Center — could solve these woes.
This idea of an on-campus pharmacy is not such a novel one. We already had one until 2019, and other institutions — like Yale and the University of Michigan — currently maintain on-campus pharmacies for student use. These services benefit from a direct line of communication with their respective universities and insurance administrators, as well as increased familiarity with the student body. A direct integration into the Frist Health Center would also mirror the incorporation of many pharmacies into large hospitals, which allows patients and visitors to pick up prescriptions without leaving the hospital. Such pharmacies are able to better respond to complex prescriptions, promote equitable access, and are simply more convenient for student patients.
We must also consider how the current political climate places some necessary healthcare — like gender-affirming care and access to abortion — in the line of fire. Although Princeton Students for Reproductive Justice already provides Plan B free of cost to the student body, an on-campus pharmacy could be an important access point for prescription birth control that isn’t subject to the corporate politics influencing external pharmaceutical healthcare.
Additionally, Donald Trump’s recent ban on gender-affirming care for anyone under 19 raises major concerns for the availability of trans medicine. Even a leading New York City hospital system — ensconced within a blue city in a blue state — has started canceling appointments. Making gender-affirming care available at an institutionally-supported pharmacy would assuage this concern. Princeton is in a position to not only support their students’ physical health at a baseline level, but demonstrate care and respect for their identities and needs as a matter of principle.
Following the commitment of University President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 to diversity and inclusion, this is an opportunity for a tangible and significant follow-through. Although the future of these necessary types of healthcare is uncertain given the current political climate, a Princeton pharmacy would work to remedy uneasiness and, at the very least, create a sense of solidarity between the University and its students.
Even many over-the-counter medications beneficial to student health — allergy medications, liquid IVs, and more — are inflated by the town of Princeton’s high cost of living. With more than 71 percent of the class of 2028 receiving financial aid, a University subsidization of over-the-counter medications that may be provided alongside a pharmacy — think the shelves in CVS — would go a long way toward easing the financial burden on students’ day-to-day needs and make medications that aid the student population’s well-being more accessible.
In this moment, it is more necessary than ever that the University shows its full support for science-backed healthcare and efforts which promote the health of all of its students. Slashed funding on efforts across the “woke” agenda; threats to trans healthcare, contraception, and abortion; the United States’ withdrawal from the World Health Organizations — the culmination of these pressing political developments puts Princeton students, the University, and the country in limbo. Coupled with the opportunity of UHS moving to Frist, now is the perfect time to reestablish an on-campus pharmacy.
Callisto Lim (she/they) is a first-year from Houston, Texas, planning to major in Civil Engineering. To reach her, email callisto[at]princeton.edu.
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