New York pharmacists can now dispense birth control without a prescription to anyone in New York, according to an order signed by the state’s health commissioner on Tuesday.
The order was part of a broad push last year by Gov. Kathy Hochul and leaders in the state Legislature to expand reproductive health care in the face of winnowing access elsewhere in the country.
Hochul said it was a “new day” for women in the state during a news conference on Tuesday. New York’s action follows a similar move in New Jersey last year.
“You now have access, easy access, to the contraception that you choose to fit your own personal health care needs because it is your body and it is your choice,” the governor said.
The order gives individuals a year’s supply of three types of birth control: pills, vaginal rings and patches. It also applies to people who travel to New York from other states.
“Anybody can — you're welcome to get a year's supply,” Health Commissioner James McDonald said at the news conference. “You want to come to New York and get your birth control pill, you're welcome.”
He compared his order to a statewide “prescription.”
“For this role, I've become your doctor as the state's physician,” he said. “This is something I'm very comfortable with.”
McDonald added that health department data shows 85% of pharmacies plan to take advantage of the order, but it will take some time for them to complete the required training.
Pharmacists will request someone’s insurance card and ask them to complete an assessment questionnaire before dispensing birth control. They will also notify the individual’s primary care provider unless the person opts out of the notice.
Copayments for birth control were eliminated in 2010 under the federal Affordable Care Act.
As Hochul heralded the order on Tuesday, Republican leaders in the state Senate and Assembly declined to comment on it.
The Senate passed the measure 48 to 15 last May, and the governor signed it into law the same day. But implementing the order required months of regulatory review, which was completed last week.
Hochul said she wanted to reassure women with the order, “particularly at a time when [they] are feeling discouraged and not listened to and powerless.”
She also touted the increased access to birth control as a result of the order, “especially for people who live in parts of our state where getting an appointment with a doctor could take months.”