R Street Institute

R Sheets Competition Policy

Pharmacy Access To Contraception in Illinois

by Courtney Joslin AND Marc Hyden
April 2, 2019
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Key Points

Many women have limited access to contraception.
Over half of pregnancies in Illinois are unintended.
Taxpayers spent nearly $1 billion covering the medical costs associated with unintended pregnancies in 2010.
Adopting a pharmacy access model would allow pharmacists to prescribe contraception, which they are qualified to do, and would give women more family planning options.

 In 2010, 52 percent of pregnancies in Illinois were unintended. When compared to the national average—45 percent in 2011—this is high. Adopting the pharmacy access model in Illinois would therefore offer women increased access to effective contraception and would, in turn, help avoid unintended pregnancies and their effects.   

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