How Much Do “Free” Tampons Cost? #MenstrualCapitalism and Examples from New York State

Spurred by legislation introduced by New York State Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, that state adopted a law that requires public schools to provide free menstrual hygiene products for students in grades 6-12. In April, 2018, Governor Andrew Cuomo tweeted the news: “Schools in New York State will now be required to provide free menstrual products in restrooms for girls in grades 6 through 12. Menstrual products are as necessary as toilet paper and soap, but can be one expense too many for struggling families.” Governor Cuomo conveniently left out of his tweet that the mandate is unfunded. In other words, school districts must figure out how to pay for these menstrual hygiene products. Earlier this week, the Rochester (New York) Democrat & Chronicle reported (here) on what that has meant, in dollars and cents, for some upstate school districts: The startup costs for having dispensers in bathrooms are thousands of dollars for local school districts. The…

Read more detail on Recent Health Care Law posts –

This entry was posted in Health Law and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply