CVS offering birth control at Mass. pharmacies to help combat contraceptive deserts
Photo | Grant Welker
CVS on West Boylston Street in Worcester
CVS Pharmacy has begun offering same-day birth control consultation and prescriptions in Massachusetts, as part of an effort to provide lower-cost, easier-to-access reproductive health services.
Launched Thursday, the pharmacies’ birth control consultations are available to all patients 18 years and older at any of the nearly 400 CVS Pharmacy locations throughout the state, according to a Thursday press release from CVS, which is headquartered in Rhode Island.
Worcester has eight CVS pharmacy locations.
At a cost of $39, consultations will require patients to complete a health screening form and have their blood pressure checked for the pharmacist to assess their eligibility to receive birth control via the pharmacy. Qualifying patients will then be prescribed one of several different hormonal contraception options, including the pill and the transdermal patch, with their copay amounts determined by their individual health insurance coverage. For follow up preventive care visits, CVS will offer local physician information for patients who do not already have a health care provider.
CVS’s new service is part of the pharmacy’s efforts to close the gap in birth control access as the pharmacy reports one in three women in the United States say they have a hard time getting birth control prescriptions, leaving millions in what is referred to as contraceptive deserts.
"Hormonal birth control is one of the safest and most effective ways to prevent unplanned pregnancy and support family planning, but many women find this critical medication difficult to obtain here in Massachusetts,” Massachusetts State Senator Michael Moore (D-Worcester) said in the release. “We are taking a big step toward lowering barriers that prevent women from getting the birth control they need and addressing disparities in contraceptive access for those in historically underserved areas."
Pharmacies in other 27 states and Washington, D.C. already offer the service in some form, said Moore. CVS Pharmacy offers the consultation services throughout California, Hawaii, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin.
"Patients deserve real access to reproductive health care, and the provision of birth control by pharmacists will allow patients to quickly consult with their pharmacists and get a birth control prescription that same day. With the addition of pharmacist-prescribed contraception in Massachusetts, we are putting choice back in the patients' hands and giving them options in how, where, and when they get their contraception,” Massachusetts State Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa (D-Northampton) said in the release.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.
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