After Repro Equity Now’s Advocacy, CVS Pharmacy Is Now Prescribing Birth Control
As of mid-September, CVS Pharmacy announced that it will be offering hormonal contraceptive prescribing services! Massachusetts patients interested in receiving a birth control prescription can be evaluated by a CVS pharmacist and, if clinically eligible, receive a prescription for birth control without visiting their provider’s office.
How does pharmacist prescribing of birth control work?
As part of an evaluation, patients will be asked to complete a health screening form and check their blood pressure. Based on the results, the CVS pharmacist will determine whether the patient is eligible for a birth control prescription and review the different contraception options available to the patient, including the bill and the transdermal patch. The consultation with the pharmacist costs $39.
Why is pharmacist prescribing of birth control so important?
One third of adult women who have ever tried to get a prescription for hormonal birth control report problems either obtaining a prescription or refills, often due to an unnecessary clinical visit or examination requirement. For people who may not have a primary care provider or those who face extraordinarily long wait times to schedule an appointment—most of whom are low-income or people of color—contraceptive access is often put out of reach. Such barriers stand in the way of continuity of contraceptive care which is, of course, critical to reducing unintended pregnancy.
By eliminating the need for a visit to a health care provider to obtain a prescription for birth control and allowing people to receive the prescription directly from their pharmacist, it will help increase access to contraception for those who face the greatest barriers to care. Instead of having to take time off of work to travel to a doctor’s appointment, pay co-pays for clinic visits, or find child care while seeing a provider, people can visit their local pharmacy and obtain birth control directly from their pharmacist.
Massachusetts has always led the nation in expanding access to reproductive health care access and equity. However, when it comes to birth control prescribing, our Commonwealth was falling behind the 29 states that already authorized pharmacists to prescribe hormonal birth control.
In a post-Roe world, as national attacks on birth control escalate, we must find every opportunity to protect and expand reproductive freedom. Expanding access to contraceptive care has never been more critical, especially in protected states like Massachusetts.
How are pharmacists able to prescribe birth control?
Last year, the Massachusetts Legislature passed the Fiscal Year 2024 budget, which included a provision that authorized pharmacists to prescribe birth control. This provision is part of broader efforts across the Bay State to increase access to birth control following the passage of the ACCESS Act in 2017, which eliminated cost-sharing for contraceptives and required pharmacists to make a full year’s worth of contraception available to patients.
CHECK IT OUT: A history of recent efforts in the Bay State to increase access to birth control and abortion:
Repro Equity Now worked to pass the 2017 ACCESS Law, which enables eligible individuals to receive a year’s supply of no-cost birth control — including the pill, patches, rings, or injectable birth control — with just one visit to the pharmacy. The ACCESS Law also makes emergency contraception available at no cost with a prescription from a clinician or through a standing order.
Repro Equity Now advocated for a reproductive health care package that included a statewide standing order for emergency contraception and a statutory fix to allow over-the-counter emergency contraception to be sold in vending machines.
Repro Equity Now supported the FY2025 Budget, which includes a standing order for over-the-counter contraceptives, enabling MassHealth members to access over-the-counter birth control for free without a prescription.
