Abstract
Background: Prescription hormonal contraceptive methods are vital to prevention of unplanned pregnancies. New legislation among 23 states has expanded access to contraception. In California, a 2017 law requires pharmacists to dispense year-long supplies of contraception and insurance plans to cover it upon patients’ request. This study assesses pharmacist knowledge of this new law 6 months after enactment. Methods: From July to November 2017, a random selection of 600 community pharmacies were called requesting a pharmacist (n = 532, 88.7% response). Pharmacists were asked if they had heard of the new law, if they would dispense a year-long supply to cash-pay, privately or publicly insured patients, and what they perceived as obstacles to dispensing year-long supplies. Results: Awareness of this law was assessed through these surveys. Most pharmacists responded they would dispense year-long supplies to cash-pay patients, regardless of knowledge of the new law (81% of “knew”, 70% of “did not know”, p = 0.1046). The top two perceived obstacles were insurance reimbursement (55.8%) and store policy (13.4%). Conclusion: Despite a new law requiring insurance coverage of a year-long supply of prescription birth control, most pharmacists were unaware at six months after the policy went into effect. Of those who were aware, the majority did not clearly understand it. Compliance among insurance plans is unknown. There was no implementation plan or awareness campaign for the new law.
Highlights
Access to modern methods of contraception is essential in the prevention of unplanned and unintended pregnancies
Of the 532 pharmacists asked whether they had heard of California Senate Bill 999 (CSB 999) allowing dispensing of a year-long supply of prescription birth control, 530 responded
Reviewing the qualitative data retrieved by Question 3 (Figure 1), we found that the majority of pharmacists stated that the biggest perceived obstacle for dispensing a year-long supply of birth control at once was whether insurance companies would provide appropriate reimbursement (297 out of 532, 55.35%)
Summary
Access to modern methods of contraception is essential in the prevention of unplanned and unintended pregnancies. Hormonal contraceptive methods are commonly used by reproductive-aged women to prevent unintended pregnancies; access and affordability remain obstacles, in under-insured and under-resourced communities. Prescription hormonal contraceptive methods are vital to prevention of unplanned pregnancies. In California, a 2017 law requires pharmacists to dispense year-long supplies of contraception and insurance plans to cover it upon patients’ request. This study assesses pharmacist knowledge of this new law 6 months after enactment. Pharmacists were asked if they had heard of the new law, if they would dispense a year-long supply to cash-pay, privately or publicly insured patients, and what they perceived as obstacles to dispensing year-long supplies. Results: Awareness of this law was assessed through these surveys
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
