How to Find a Pharmacy That Can Prescribe Birth Control
Pharmacists can prescribe birth control in eight states and Washington, DC, meaning you can walk into a pharmacy without a doctor’s prescription and walk out with, often, a full year’s worth of pills. The patch, shot, and vaginal ring can also be prescribed this way.
Those states are California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington. This isn’t the same as the drugs being available over-the-counter. Under current regulations, you still need a prescription from somebody who has examined you (and, in particular, checked your blood pressure since birth control can carry risks for people with high blood pressure).
So you’ll need to do a consultation with the pharmacist, which often requires a fee—pharmacist Sally Rafie says she’s heard of consultations costing anywhere from zero to $50. Your health insurance should still cover the prescription itself, and insurance is required to cover a full year’s prescription in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Washington DC.
Not all pharmacies can prescribe birth control, even if you’re in the states where it’s legal, so Rafie and some pharmacist colleagues created the Birth Control Pharmacies map. It’s not exhaustive, but it does include 250 pharmacies across California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington state.
If you don’t live in those states, you may still be able to get a birth control prescription without physically visiting a doctor. Several online services will hook you up with a doctor (through a video call or often just by filling out a form) and can send your prescription through the mail.
If you take birth control pills and are sick of visiting your doctor just to get prescription…
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