Public Health and birth control

Junebugfairy · May 19, 2010

plan b is otc for ages 17 and up, but it costs around 50$

at our local department of health it is free or low cost thanks to sliding scales and local funding. the nurses and tech's go in at the end of the visit and give the patient her rx in the form of bc pills, condoms, etc, in giant plastic ziploc type baggies.

dscrn · May 19, 2010

plan b is otc for ages 17 and up, but it costs around 50$
at our local department of health it is free or low cost thanks to sliding scales and local funding. the nurses and tech's go in at the end of the visit and give the patient her rx in the form of bc pills, condoms, etc, in giant plastic ziploc type baggies.

i am son glad that agencieslike yours are available to women. often, due to the sensitive nature of the subject, "reproductive health" is often difficult to discuss, especially teens. i think it is far better for them to be able to access care, than to pass judgment on any choice that they might make, in the future... :yeah:

Junebugfairy · May 19, 2010

i believe that local county health departments are vital, it is a shame that many around the us are in danger of more funding cuts.

MaryEMT · May 19, 2010

I guess different in different states?? BC, ring ,plan b definately not OTC in California (and I'm pretty positive for NY too although I only looked up CALI.

Junebugfairy · May 19, 2010

nationwide, plan b is otc for women ages 17 and up. in 2006 it was made otc for ages 18 and up, but recently it was moved to 17 and up. this is in all states.

this article is from 2006. it explains the otc status.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/24/ar2006082400559.html

not all pharmacies will choose to carry it, it is not required that any pharmacy carry it at all. wal mart pharmacy does not carry it period.

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · May 19, 2010

plan b is otc for ages 17 and up, but it costs around 50$
at our local department of health it is free or low cost thanks to sliding scales and local funding. the nurses and tech's go in at the end of the visit and give the patient her rx in the form of bc pills, condoms, etc, in giant plastic ziploc type baggies.

$35 at wal-mart. literally been there and bought that. and was sooo thankful i could.

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · May 19, 2010

nationwide, plan b is otc for women ages 17 and up. in 2006 it was made otc for ages 18 and up, but recently it was moved to 17 and up. this is in all states.
this article is from 2006. it explains the otc status.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/24/ar2006082400559.html
not all pharmacies will choose to carry it, it is not required that any pharmacy carry it at all. wal mart pharmacy does not carry it period.

yes it does, actually. not to be contrary, but that's where i bought it in north carolina. and it's cheap cheap cheap.

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · May 19, 2010

I guess different in different states?? BC, ring ,plan b definately not OTC in California (and I'm pretty positive for NY too although I only looked up CALI.

Federal law - under the FDA - provides for the OTC status of Plan B, and it is OTC in all fifty states as of 2009, available to people 17 and up.

FDA to OK over-the-counter Plan B for 17-year-olds - USATODAY.com

In fact, in nine states - and one of them is California - pharmacy access laws already in place permit ANYONE to buy Plan B, without age restriction:

Plan B One Step - Morning After Pill - Buy Morning After Pill Plan B One Step

They're even working on legislation that will force military pharmacies to provide Plan B free under Tricare OTC. I was reading about that in the Air Force Times about a month ago. The argument is that it's not right that a woman can go to the MD on base, get a scrip, and then get it for free when she can pay downtown and get it without a scrip and without waiting. Since Plan B is covered by Tricare, Congress wants the DOD to have to provide it without a scrip, mainly because it can take two to three days to get to your primary care provider and by then it's ineffective.

I hope it passes.

Junebugfairy · May 19, 2010

oooh, really?!

the wal mart closest to me refuses to dispense it, i found out when i went to buy it for someone else. i assumed this could have been an issue for all wal marts. so perhaps this particular one stocks it, but the pharmacist herself was unwilling to dispense it? hmm.

i live in nc :)

carolinapooh, BSN, RN · May 19, 2010

That's probably the pharmacist pushing his or her values on you. I promise you I bought it in Hillsborough at the new big WalMart off I85 about five months ago. :)

I have a serious problem with people attempting to force their own values of that nature on me. IMHO they're making judgement calls on me they have no right to make. (If I HAD been pregnant - and I don't think I was - it would have put me right out of the Air Force before I even got back in, and my family and I are SOOO much better off with me IN the Air Force again. None of that pharmacist's business, really. Not their life.)

Sorry, just my opinion.

TDCHIM · May 19, 2010

oooh, really?!
the wal mart closest to me refuses to dispense it, i found out when i went to buy it for someone else. i assumed this could have been an issue for all wal marts. so perhaps this particular one stocks it, but the pharmacist herself was unwilling to dispense it? hmm.
i live in nc :)

i had the same problem at a wal mart and a rite aid here in a boonieville area of ohio. neither one stocked plan b when i (as a happily married woman!) had need of it following an incident with a broken condom a couple of years ago. i actually called and complained to rite aid corporate, but i figured wal mart was a lost cause.

MaryEMT · May 19, 2010

Forgive me I stand corrected, the policy I had been using was specific to where I work. And I happen to work with a population of mostly under 17 yr. old teenagers!