The University of Connecticut has placed vending machines with the emergency contraceptive Plan B on its campus in an effort to expand access to contraception.
The university is the first institution in the state to install these vending machines, offering Plan B to students at a lower cost. The vending machines were placed on campus at the beginning of the month.
UConn’s School of Pharmacy is also offering a program to train pharmacists in the state to prescribe birth control. The program was launched after approval from the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection. The program is optional for the state’s licensed pharmacies.
This comes after a law was passed in 2023 to expand contraception access in the state. The law went into effect on Dec. 27, 2024.
The law allows licensed pharmacists to prescribe contraception at pharmacies across the state after a brief training program. It also allows over-the-counter medications such as Plan B to be sold in vending machines.
“This is just one of the many ways we’re working to expand access to contraception and other important medications in Connecticut,” Gov. Ned Lamont said in a press release. “Pharmacists have continued to play a growing role in our healthcare system, from administering vaccines to dispensing Narcan and other lifesaving medications, and now prescribing birth control. They are a critical part of the healthcare network.”
State officials have argued that expanded access to birth control would benefit many people, including those with lower incomes.
“There can be many barriers to going to a primary care provider for contraception — potential costs, needing to take time off work, or traveling long distances,” Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said in the release. “That is why both patients and pharmacists overwhelmingly offered their support for this change. Everyone should have safe and reliable access to contraceptives.”
There is currently no established reimbursement structure in the state for pharmacists prescribing contraception. Unlike physician visits, pharmacists are not covered by insurance plans and lack a billing mechanism for prescriptions.
“The large chain stores are excited about the opportunity. The independent stores are excited about it,” Connecticut Pharmacists Association CEO Nathan Tinker told the Yale Daily News. “But right now, there is no way for pharmacists to be reimbursed for this service.”
Three bills have been introduced in the state legislature to address questions about pharmacist reimbursement.
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