The Financial Impact of Over-the-Counter Availability of Oral Contraceptive Pills
Abstract
The oral contraceptive pill has been safely and effectively used for over 40 years. It seems reasonable to ask whether the pill should be made available over-the-counter (OTC) without a physician's prescription. If so, what will be the subsequent change in cost due to OTC pill availability? A cost-effectiveness model was adapted and modified to estimate the current contraceptive methods' cost and OTC pill availability cost. The possible changes from other contraceptive methods to the use of a potential OTC pill were assumed in this study. Using a predictive model, it was found that in the United States alone, nearly $13 billion could be saved annually if the oral contraceptive pill was available OTC. Given proven safety and effectiveness, the potential utilization and the enormous annual societal savings of an OTC oral contraceptive pill, one could conclude that it would be a reasonable public policy decision to make the lowdose pill available over the counter.
Suggested Citation
Mingfang Zhu, Albert I. Wertheimer, and Robert I. Field. "The Financial Impact of Over-the-Counter Availability of Oral Contraceptive Pills" Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical Economics 11.3 (2002): 125-142.