Resource Roundup: Online Contraception Providers
By: Jessica Stauber and Max Cohen
All women should have the opportunity to access affordable, safe, and effective contraception and family planning resources. Women have the right to make their own health decisions, and they have the right to partner with their physicians to choose medications that are fit for them without their boss getting involved. The United States healthcare system is built in a way in which the best (and in most cases, the only affordable way) people can access health insurance is through their employer. This week, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in favor of the Trump administration’s decision to allow employers and universities to deny coverage of birth control based on religious or moral grounds. Now allowing those employers to decide what health resources women can and cannot access is unconscionable. According to government estimates, this could result in 70,000 to 126,000 women losing their contraceptive coverage.
Prior to today’s decision, all preventive health services and screenings for women were covered, including full coverage of all Food and Drug Administration approved forms of contraception, by the Affordable Care Act which was signed by President Barack Obama in March 2010. Houses of worship were the only bodies exempt from this requirement.
This resource roundup is meant to provide a list of online birth control providers offering forms of contraception for free or at affordable prices, regardless of insurance status. Please note that all costs are reflections of what is published on each provider’s website - exact costs will vary depending on patient specifics, such as the selected method of birth control. BMGC is trying to provide a list of resources and in no way endorses these products.
Methods: oral contraceptive pills, patches, rings, and injections
Cost: $15 consultation fee + prescription fee
Prescription fee as low as $15/month for those without insurance
Plush Care: https://plushcare.com/get-birth-control-online/
Methods: oral contraceptive pills, patches, rings, injections, implants, and IUDs
Cost: $15/month membership fee + first visit fee + prescription fee
First visit fee is co-pay fee for those with insurance and $99 for those without
Prescription fee as low as $18/month for those without insurance
Planned Parenthood Direct App: https://plannedparenthooddirect.org/
Methods: oral contraceptive pills, patches, rings, and emergency contraception
Cost: varies by state, but often $0 visit fee + $15-25 per pack, patch, or ring
Emergency contraception cost is $75/pill
Twentyeight Health: https://twentyeighthealth.com/
Methods: oral contraceptive pills, patches, rings, and emergency contraception
Cost: $20 visit fee + prescription fee
Prescription fee as low as $18/month for those without insurance
Emergency contraception cost is $30/pill
HeyDoctor by GoodRx: https://www.heydoctor.com/
Methods: oral contraceptive pills, patches, rings, internal condom, and emergency contraception
Cost: $5-15 visit fee + prescription fee
Note this method involves getting a prescription for birth control to be picked up at the pharmacy, not by mail. Thus, prescription fees will depend on insurance status and choice of pharmacy.
Lemonaid Health: https://www.lemonaidhealth.com/
Methods: oral contraceptive pills
Cost: $25/year consultation fee + prescription fee
Prescription fee as low as $9/month for those without insurance
Pandia Health: https://www.pandiahealth.com/
Methods: oral contraceptive pills, patches, and rings
Cost: $20/year consultation fee + prescription fee
Prescription fee as low as $15 per pack, patch, or ring for those without insurance
The Pill Club: https://thepillclub.com/
Methods: oral contraceptive pills, patches, rings, and emergency contraception
Cost: $0+ consultation fee + prescription fee
Prescription fee as low as $9 per pack, patch, or ring for those without insurance
PRJKT RUBY: https://www.prjktruby.com/
Methods: oral contraceptive pills and emergency contraception
Cost: $0 consultation fee + prescription fee
Prescription fee as low as $20/month for those without insurance
Simple Health: https://www.simplehealth.com/
Methods: oral contraceptive pills, patches, and rings
Cost: $20/year consultation fee + prescription fee
Prescription fee as low as $15/month
Curious about the safety of these online birth control programs? Check out this article from Harvard Health.
This page from American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology also has a FAQ on how to pick the birth control which is best for you here