OTC Birth Control Issue Triggers Debate, Campaign Ads

Planned Parenthood Votes is stepping into the fray with new ads arguing that a policy now being embraced by some GOP candidates — over-the-counter availability of birth control pills — is more expensive for women.

NPR: Changing Tack, GOP Candidates Support Better Access To Birth Control

A string of Republican candidates for Senate are supporting an issue usually associated with Democrats: increased access to contraception (Liasson, 9/12).

Politico Pro: Planned Parenthood Fires Back With $900K Ad Buy In Colorado, North Carolina

Planned Parenthood Votes will launch its first TV ads of the year today, a nearly million-dollar buy aimed at countering Republican Senate candidates who recently embraced making oral contraception available over the counter and boosting Democratic incumbents Kay Hagan and Mark Udall. The group casts this proposal, newly popular with some GOP candidates, as more expensive for women with a $500,000 buy in the Raleigh, N.C., market and a $400,000 buy in the Denver market (Hammon, 9/12).

Also in the news –

Kaiser Health News: Capsules: Apparent Retail Glitch Triggers Copays For Birth Control

CVS Health is investigating a potential glitch in its drug pricing system that appears to have charged women copayments for prescription birth control – though the scope of the error remains currently unclear. The problem came to the attention of Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., after one of her staffers attempted to buy generic prescription birth control in Washington D.C. and was charged a $20 copay (Luthra, 9/11).

OTC Birth Control Issue Triggers Debate, Campaign Ads