Opill cost, availability: What to know about OTC birth control pills
The Food and Drug Administration approved the country’s first birth control pill to be sold over the counter. Here’s when Opill will become available.
Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
More than 50 years after the oral contraceptive pill went on the market in the United States, the country’s first over-the-counter birth control pill will be available in stores and online nationwide later this month.
Known as Opill, the birth control pill will be available without prescription necessary in major retailers and pharmacies nationwide in late March, the drug’s maker, Perrigo, announced Monday.
“People have a new choice, a new option to access the oral contraceptive pill without a prescription,” said Contraceptive Access Initiative (CAI) Co-founder Dana Singiser.
The medication will cost $19.99 for a one-month supply and $49.99 for a three-month supply in stores. Online customers can buy Opill at Opill.com for $49.99 for a three-month supply and $89.99 for a six-month supply. Patients may begin pre-ordering the drug from select stores as of this week.
“A lot of consumer research went into our setting the retail price,” said Sara Young, chief commercial officer at Perrigo.
Opill, which is 98% effective at preventing pregnancy, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in July 2023 and will be the first of its kind available to Americans over-the-counter.
“For the first time in history, there is no permission required to access to birth control pills,” Young said. “It’s truly a groundbreaking reproductive health product that will address key unmet need for contraceptive access.”
Now that details about access of Opill have emerged, reproductive health advocates say that stocking the pill on retailer shelves and online is a step in the right direction — but more still needs to be done to ensure equitable access to quality reproductive health care nationwide.
What reproductive rights advocates say about Opill
Reproductive rights advocates described the arrival of Opill to American consumers as a major victory, but underscored the obligation to address other barriers to access from cost to geographic availability, according to Singiser.
A first priority should be improving over-the-counter availability for other forms of birth control pill (Opill is progesterone-only whereas other pills containing estrogen and progesterone are still awaiting FDA approval). Another concern is in what stores the pill will be stocked and how much the medication will cost for people without insurance or other cost barriers, Singiser said.
Perrigo confirmed that Opill can be paid or reimbursed through Flexible Spending or Health Savings Accounts (also known as FSAs/HSAs), although parameters of these specific savings plans typically depend on employers’ unique coverage offerings — and that the patient has an employer if at all. The company confirmed a cost-assistance program will be announced in coming weeks to help qualified low-income, uninsured individuals get Opill for little or no charge.
“It will be a very simple process online to apply for a code and receive Opill through the cost-assistance program,” Young said. Perrigo is also supporting efforts by the Biden administration to expand coverage for all OTC contraceptives, including Opill, under the Affordable Care Act, Young said.
Once Opill’s cost and availability is better understood, Nurx, a telemedicine health care provider, plans to stock the medication, according to Nurx Chief Business Officer Caroline Hofmann.
The online provider serves more than 500,000 women across the U.S. and more than 40% of these patients live in the South. Current birth control pill offerings can cost as little as $15 on Nurx, less than Opill’s in-store or online price, and Nurx offers automatic refills.
As of now, a prescription is necessary to get birth control pills from Nurx. So the arrival of Opill to virtual retailers like this one would basically transform the process into a one-stop shop for people, Hofmann said.
“That is one more option in our arsenal we can equip women with,” said Hofmann. “This would truly make it a one-touch type of experience.”
While Nurx has yet to launch Opill on its platform, Hofmann says a majority of women may still opt for an appointment with a medical provider for reasons of cost and trust.
“Our hypothesis is that for the vast amount of women, it will still be cheaper to access contraceptives using their insurance versus buying Opill over the counter,” Hofmann said, citing that many insurers don’t have copays for a visit or for generic birth controls already. “It will still be from an affordability standpoint likely to be cheaper for a lot of patients to get a prescription.”
While Hofmann lauds Opill being available over the counter, she said the progesterone-only pill is just one of many birth control options available to Americans. For this reason, people may prefer to go to the doctor anyway, despite the over-the-counter option.
Because people prefer speak with a trusted professional to determine what contraceptive option is best for their lifestyle and medical situation, Opill.com offers a variety of educational materials about the drug’s safety and health in English and Spanish, Young said.
While the pill isn’t the preferred contraceptive option for every body, Singiser said the arrival of Opill is a major milestone in the expansion of contraceptive options in the U.S..
There’s also the question of stock. As with any oral contraceptive, people need to refresh their supply of packs on a regular basis in order to maintain the efficacy of the routine in preventing pregnancy.
“The retail price will be out of reach for some people,” Singiser said, adding that it’s extremely important the pill is shipped to areas where major retailers have few or no stores.
“Opill will use major pharmacy chains to distribute their product,” she said. “I hope they look at other kinds of markets that are common throughout the country, particularly in rural areas.”
The election in the backdrop
The availability of the drug comes as the Biden administration attempts to rally around reproductive rights in the 2024 campaign season, a move galvanized by the fall of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that previously established the right to an abortion. As 14 states have moved to outright ban abortion and other states weigh restrictions, birth control has become an urgent topic for many people looking to avoid unwanted pregnancy.
Hofmann said she’s yet to see either side of the political debate attack “plain vanilla contraceptive care” to the extent other facets of reproductive rights including abortion and emergency contraception have been conservative targets. While she celebrated the expansion of birth control access, she said the battle for equal care is about the whole of its parts:
“Just over the counter birth control is not the only solution,” she said. “I think we really need to take a step back and think about how do provide high quality care everywhere in the country. How do you make it affordable? This is a great step but it shouldn’t be the only step.”
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How does Opill work?
Opill uses the synthetic hormone progestin to block sperm from the cervix, preventing pregnancy.
While most other birth control pills use progestin and estrogen, progestin-only pills like Opill are often recommended for people who can’t take combination pills for health reasons.
Hormone-based pills, like Opill, have long been one of the most common forms of birth control nationwide and have been used by tens of millions of people since the 1960s.
Norgestrel was first approved in the U.S. in 1973 and marketed by Pfizer as the prescription product Ovrette until it was discontinued in 2005 as combination birth control pills with both estrogen and progestin became more popular. In 2015, HRA Pharma acquired norgestrel and rebranded it as Opill with the sole purpose of getting government approval to sell the pill over the counter.
The pill is currently sold without a prescription in the United Kingdom. Other contraceptive pills are available without prescription across much of the globe, including in South America, Asia and Africa.
More: In first major abortion case since Roe’s demise, Supreme Court to weigh in on mifepristone restrictions
Adrianna Rodriguez contributed reporting.
Barbara Terrio is a seasoned business journalist, delving into the world of finance, startups, and entrepreneurship. With a knack for demystifying complex economic trends, she helps readers navigate the business landscape. Outside of her reporting, Barbara is an advocate for financial literacy and enjoys mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs.
