Con

Over-the-counter (OTC) birth control would raise the cost of the drug.

Making birth control pills OTC means they would no longer be covered by insurance and women would have to pay for them on their own. With the Obamacare birth control mandate, insured women, who account for 89% of American women, can access free birth control. The National Women’s Law Center estimated that 64.2 million women had birth control coverage with no out-of-pocket cost. [45] [46] [125] [126]

Stuart O. Schweitzer, UCLA Professor of Health Policy and Management, stated that OTC is “more expensive to consumers than a prescribed drug that’s covered by insurance.” Before Plan B emergency contraception went OTC, the drug cost about $12 for the brand name and $5 for the generic for women using Medicaid. After the drug became OTC, the cost increased to $50 for the brand name and $41 for the generic. Kelly Cleland, Research Specialist at Columbia University stated, “When the generics [of Plan B] were about to go onto the shelves I thought there might be a price war that would push the cost down. But that really hasn’t happened, and I don’t see a sign that it will.” [47] [48]

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