Eligible MassHealth members and Health Safety Net patients will have access to prenatal vitamins and over-the-counter birth control at no cost, under two standing orders that the Healey administration announced Thursday.
The orders, which essentially enable the state to write a prescription for a large group of people, will allow about half a million patients to access the reproductive health medications.
The medications will be available at all MassHealth-enrolled pharmacies, and available for eligible MassHealth members and those who use the Health Safety Net, a fund used to pay care costs for certain low-income and uninsured individuals.
MassHealth currently covers 40 percent of all births in Massachusetts, according to the Healey administration.
“Removing barriers like this is one of the simplest ways we can work toward better health outcomes for mothers and infants in our state,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kate Walsh said.
The standing order covers a 90-day supply of over-the-counter prenatal vitamins or multivitamins containing at least 400 mcg of folic acid, a B vitamin that helps bodies create new cells. Doctors recommend that people considering getting pregnant, pregnant, or nursing, take these vitamins.
Pharmacists will be required to counsel patients on the use of prenatal vitamins, including when to start and stop taking them, and encourage follow-up with a primary care provider and obstetrician/gynecologist.
The second standing order covers oral hormonal contraceptives. It allows pharmacists to give out a 365-day supply of over-the-counter birth control pills — specifically norgestrel 0.075 mg tablets — to eligible MassHealth members and HSN patients.
It specifies that birth control is “accessible to individuals of reproductive potential and age,” according to Healey’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS).
“As part of this initiative, pharmacists will be required to counsel patients on contraindications, side effects, and the proper use of the birth control pill, emphasizing the importance of daily adherence and informing patients that the pill does not protect against sexually transmitted infections,” information from EOHHS says.
“We know that prenatal vitamins and birth control play an essential role in women’s health. No one should be prevented from getting the care they need because of cost or because they are waiting for a prescription,” Healey said in a statement. “These standing orders will make it easier and more affordable for people to make the best health care decisions for themselves, will improve health outcomes for women and babies, and will reduce health disparities.”
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