North Carolina Medicaid recipients can obtain OTC birth control pills at pharmacies at no cost

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Medicaid recipients can begin receiving over-the-counter birth control pills at no cost this week through hundreds of participating pharmacies statewide. Gov. Roy Cooper’s office says that starting Thursday, the oral conceptive Opill will be covered and available without a prescription to Medicaid enrollees at pharmacies in 92 counties. The coverage emerged from a 2021 law that let pharmacists prescribe different kinds of contraception in line with state medical regulations. Medicaid began signing up pharmacists as providers earlier this year. Cooper says the state aims to expand health care access “and that includes the freedom to make decisions about family planning.”