The Trump administration recently attempted to allow employers to deny contraceptive coverage based on religious or moral beliefs. However, even with such efforts to hinder women’s access to reproductive care, there are a number of groups emerging to assist women and create access to affordable or free contraceptives, and they can ship them right to your door.
Freethepill.org lists a handful of websites that deliver birth control and a few that can send a prescription to a pharmacy of your choice to pick up. It’s important to note, if you live in Oregon or Washington, there are pharmacists who can actually prescribe you birth control without a visit to the doctor, and you can buy emergency contraceptives from most pharmacies.
Below is a list of telehealth sites that can or will soon be able to deliver contraceptives to Oregon. Note that all of these sites will require an online health screening, which includes that you know your blood pressure within the past six months. If you are choosing to use insurance, you will need to know your health plan, member ID and bin number, and the online provider may require more or less information depending on the site.
Lemonaid – Offers the pill, patch and ring, but not emergency contraceptives at this time, according to an employee. The cost is $25 with or without insurance for the online doctors visit, which covers the entire year. A prescription is then sent to their mail order pharmacy, which then mails your choice of contraceptive to your door.
Nurx – Went live in Oregon as of Feb. 5. They offer the pill, patch, ring, emergency contraception, PrEP and home HPV screening tests. The online consultation is free with or without insurance. The pill starts as low as $15 per pack or $5 with insurance. Three packs are delivered at a time, meaning your first order will cost $45. The site discloses if you are not using insurance, both the patch and ring will typically cost over $100 per pack. Nurx does require that you upload a picture of your photo I.D. showing your name, face and birth date.
PRJKT Ruby – Does not accept insurance. They only offer oral contraceptives and emergency contraceptives. The consultation is free and the pills are $20 a pack. The first delivery will be three packs, totalling $60.
The Pill Club – This site has the cheapest emergency contraceptives of all the sites looked at, but as of right now, they are unable to prescribe in Oregon. It’s still possible to utilize their delivery service by visiting your primary provider or local Planned Parenthood for a prescription and having them send it directly.
The consultation is $15 and birth control starts around $20 per month for a three-month supply. Emergency contraceptives run $15 for one or $20 for two, but they don’t do overnight shipping.
Maven – This site offers a wide variety of telehealth options including birth control. Unlike other sites, you can pick an available practitioner from a list that includes their credentials and a bio, then schedule a specific time for a 10-minute video appointment. The cost for the video appointment for birth control is $18. It isn’t clear whether pills will be mailed to you or if the prescription will be sent to a local pharmacy.
PlushCare – The most expensive service without insurance—a video appointment with a doctor is $99—but free with insurance. Pick a provider and schedule a video appointment. They will send the prescription to a pharmacy of your choosing for you to pick up.