Availability and Accessibility of an Over-the-counter Oral Contraceptive Pill in Three Michigan Counties

Thursday, September 18, 2025

4:30 PM - 4:45 PM CT

Location: Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago Administration Offices- 2nd Floor (former ADA Building), 211 E. Chicago

Presenting Author(s)

Taylor Argo, MD (she/her/hers)

Adolescent Medicine, Fellow
University of Michigan Medical School, MI

Co-Author(s)

AB

Alexandra Burnett, MD

Adolescent Medicine, Fellow
University of Michigan
Tracey A. Wilkinson, MD, MPH (she/her/hers)

Physician
Indiana University
Indianapolis, Indiana
JM

Julie Maslowsky, PhD

Developmental Psychologist
University of Michigan
AO

Alana K. Otto, MD, MPH

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
University of Michigan Medical School

Disclosure(s):

Taylor Argo, MD: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.

Background: An over-the-counter (OTC) oral contraceptive pill (OCP) containing 75 μg of norgestrel became available without a prescription in US retail stores in March 2024. OTC access to an OCP has the potential to reduce barriers to contraceptive access and improve reproductive health equity, particularly for adolescents; however, removing the requirement for a prescription does not guarantee accessibility. Potential barriers to OTC OCP access exist at the retailer level, where the pill may be unavailable or subject to security measures in attempts to curtail theft. We previously presented data describing the availability and accessibility of the OTC OCP (“the pill”) in a single county in Michigan, where we found the pill available in a majority of pharmacies but commonly kept in locked security boxes or behind the pharmacy counter. Whether this phenomenon is common in other parts of our state or the country is unknown.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to expand our understanding of access to this pill by assessing the availability and accessibility in retail pharmacies in two additional contiguous counties in southeast Michigan.

Design/Methods: We used the State of Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) database to identify all retail pharmacies with active licenses in Washtenaw, Genesee, and Livingston counties. We excluded pharmacies embedded in clinics and hospitals. Individual pharmacies were classified as one of the following four types: national chain, local/independent, mass merchandise retailer/supermarket, and wholesale club. We visited all retail pharmacies in Washtenaw county between August 2024 and October 2024 and all retail pharmacies in Genesee county in June 2025. We plan to visit all eligible retail pharmacies in Livingston county in July 2025. For each pharmacy, we documented (or will document) the availability of the pill (i.e., whether it was in stock at the time of our visit) as well as its location (on the shelf with no security measures; behind the pharmacy counter; or in a locked security box that requires an employee to open at checkout), if applicable. Once we have completed data collection for Livingston county, we will compare the availability and location by county and by pharmacy type.

Results: N/A

Conclusions: N/A