Women Sue Wal-Mart Over Contraception February 1, 2006 Jill Way to go, ladies. Thanks to Anne for the link.
Does everyone agree that all drug stores should carry all commonly prescribed medications? If Wal-Mart doesn’t stock something customers want, won’t they go elsewhere?
So we are mad because if Wal-Mart doesn’t stock the pills we can’t boycott them? Their labor practices alone are cause for that. We’re mad because they’re violating a state law meant to ensure that they can’t create problems for people seeking commonly-prescribed medications. And, go CVS!
Nowhere in this article does it say that WalMart is violating any law….One reference is to a state “regulation” and another is to the state’s “policy”…(yes, I know Massachusetts is a commonwealth). So if the over-300 Massachusetts CVS stores all carry this drug, do you really think the relative handful of walMart stores NOT carrying it amounts to a major hardship? Silly me – OF COURSE you do… And where you live,this morning-after-pill regimen is considered a “commonly-prescribed medication”?
A company such as wal mart, which can have monopolistic influence in many ares, should be required to carry certain types of drugs. Wal-Mart should not be allowed to force its own morality rules onto people, nor should the government be able to as well.
Wal-Mart should not be allowed to force its own morality rules onto people, nor should the government be able to as well. They aren’t forcing their morality on anyone. No one is forced to shop or work at Wal-Mart.
This is a crappy article. Nowhere did the lapdog press even try to make an effort to prove that Emergency Contraceptive is a “commonly prescribed medication”. I don’t think it is. If it isn’t, wal*mart isn’t breaking the law. I noted here http://standardmischief.com/2005/11/09/forcing-pharmacists-to-dispense-drugs-emergency-contraceptive/ that Emergency Contraceptive is just a larger dose of ordinary birth control pills, and hey, wal*mart does stock them (I checked). Then I called my local CVS. Plan-B was $48.19. Birth control pills run at the same pharmacy somewhere between $40-$60, depending on brand. I’m not sure if that’s a thirty or a ninety day supply. Let’s assume thirty (that makes 28 pills with actual hormones in them). The chart that I got from Planned Parenthood (on my site) says it takes between 2-5 pills to make an equivalent dosage of Plan-B, (and you need two doses) so worse case, that $40 generic (cheapest) birth control prescription gives you at least two uses. This kind of dosage is called “off label usage” and is legal, safe and commonly done. So let’s say for some strange reason you really wanted to get your prescription filled at one of the 44 wal*marts, instead of the 300 CVS stores in the state of Massachusetts. You could just ask your doctor if s/he would just write the prescription a little differently. If your doctor is any good s/he might just suggest the idea to you. And hey, you’ll probably save money and have a spare to use in an emergency, always a good idea. Since it’s cheaper to fill your prescription as plain old BC pills, it’s conceivable that it’s not a popular medicine. Why should someone be required to stock a product thats just going to sit there and expire on the shelf? Bottom line, it’s available, nationwide, it’s cheap, and the unnamed “abortion rights groups” are blowing smoke. I don’t see why they are not putting their effort towards passing legislation allowing women to buy Plan-B or the equivalent generic drugs OTC in an emergency. That’s something I can support. The free market seems to be working just fine. Why again do we need government meddling here? Keep your laws off my pharmacist.
Um, do you have insurance? Because mine won’t pay for extra doses of medicine until it’s time for renewal. So I couldn’t pick up extra to hoard unless I was paying out of pocket. And if Plan B is the same as commonly-prescribed birth control pills, tell me again why it wouldn’t fall under the definition of commonly-prescribed medication? I don’t see why they are not putting their effort towards passing legislation allowing women to buy Plan-B or the equivalent generic drugs OTC in an emergency. Where have you been? The FDA has been dragging its feet for MONTHS and MONTHS about approving Plan B for OTC sale, and the muckety-mucks in the FDA overrode the independent advisory panel’s recommendation that they in fact approve it — which was one of the very few, if only, times that the FDA has gone against the advice of the panel. Commissioners have resigned over it. Here’s a description of the Mass. regulation: In late February, 2003, Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts asked the James DeVita, the president of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy to clarify the obligation of pharmacists to fill prescriptions for EC. DeVita’s reply stated “a Massachusetts licensed pharmacist providing services in the Commonwealth is required to fill a prescription that has been determined by the pharmacist…to be a valid prescription.” DeVita added “No statutory or regulatory exception exists for any particular drug or class of drugs.” Since pharmacists are licensed and regulated by the Commonwealth, Wal-Mart needs to follow this or risk getting their licenses yanked. So they can’t hide behind “we don’t stock that.”
I intended to use my birth control to skip periods on purpose, but every fourth week I tried to refill my scrip they wouldn’t let me. Why? Insurance company, one, and two, the pharmacy would not let me use any medication for off-label purposes. To further add to the fire, I tried this at three different pharmacies before giving up. So much for that free market.
Standard Mischief wrote: — Let’s assume thirty (that makes 28 pills with actual hormones in them). Um, actually, no, it doesn’t. That makes *21* pills with actual hormones in them, as 7 are used as “reminder” pills for the week you get your period. Furthermore, depending on the brand, there may be varying amounts of hormones (or even different hormones, if you have the tri-phasic sort) in said pills, generally making only the third week suitable for off-label, cobbled together, EMERGENCY emergency birth control. Which you still might want directions from your doctor to use. The point is, there is a prepared package of hormone pills called emergency birth control that can be and is prescribed by doctors, and Wal-Mart has decided for some reason not to stock them. This set of pills is THE right combination to use if one is trying to retroactively prevent pregnancy — no guessing, no throwing away two weeks worth of perfectly good pills because they *don’t* have the right combination to work, just the right tool for the job at hand. WHY on earth has Wal-Mart decided that they don’t need to stock this? I think the answer to that question might be rather enlightening. Lauren: the only time I was able to get away with “skipping” a period was when I was going camping and would have had my period at the time. We have *bears* in northern Minnesota, and y’know? I just decided I didn’t want to take the risk. My doctor was *adament* that I not skip more than one, but didn’t bother to tell me why. I’d love to get actual scientific reasoning on that one.
Laurie, fellow blogger and OB-GYN at The Well-Timed Period wrote this book last year. I highly recommend it if you’re interested in skipping your period or figuring out how to time your birth control, etc. For that matter, it has pretty much all the information you need on every kind of birth control that is on the market, even in other countries. Good info. (And yes, I reviewed it on Amazon.)
zuzu Says:Um, do you have insurance? Because mine won’t pay for extra doses of medicine until it’s time for renewal. So I couldn’t pick up extra to hoard unless I was paying out of pocket. No. I am paying out-of-pocket. What, you can’t swing $40? Ask the guy to help. Put it this way $40 now, or 18 years of child support. If that doesn’t motivate him, well you’re the one having sex with him 😛 And if Plan B is the same as commonly-prescribed birth control pills, tell me again why it wouldn’t fall under the definition of commonly-prescribed medication? Clearly if the notion of “commonly prescribed drug” includes standard birth control, then the fact that wal-mart does carry standard birth control (they do, I checked) means that it is complying with the law. (excuse me, I meant “that stupid law”) Where have you been? The FDA has been dragging its feet for MONTHS and MONTHS about approving Plan B for OTC sale, and the muckety-mucks in the FDA overrode the independent advisory panel’s recommendation that they in fact approve it — which was one of the very few, if only, times that the FDA has gone against the advice of the panel. Commissioners have resigned over it. I heard. Oh BTW, if it does pass, and it does become OTC, you will likely be paying out of pocket anyway. Here’s a description of the Mass. regulation: … If you link to the actual law, I might be willing to render an opinion. Those ellipses make me wonder what got left out. Lauren Says: I intended to use my birth control to skip periods on purpose, but every fourth week I tried to refill my scrip they wouldn’t let me. Why? Insurance company, one, and two, the pharmacy would not let me use any medication for off-label purposes. To further add to the fire, I tried this at three different pharmacies before giving up. So much for that free market. My definition of “free market” pretty much matches the one in Wikipedia. What’s yours? If that’s the case, either pay out-of-pocket, or change plans. How much is it worth to you to not have a period? If it’s not a medical necessity, then it falls in the same class as cosmetic surgery and lasik eye correction. Every three years I replace all the meds in my first aid kit. I have a spare tire in my car and some extra food to last me through the next snow storm. I don’t see this as any different. For something this important, I think it would be a good idea to be prepared. Oh and if you all hand approve every comment before it gets displayed, (your prerogative of course), I won’t be back. I find the hand approval crap to impede the conversation too much. We’re chewing the rag on this same topic here: http://www.saysuncle.com/archives/2006/02/02/sayuncle_to_sue_wal-mart_for_not_having_pemmican_brand_beef_jerky/ Over there and in my blog we use Spam Karma 2.
Lauren Says: Um, actually, no, it doesn’t. That makes *21* pills with actual hormones in them, as 7 are used as “reminder” pills for the week you get your period. Furthermore, depending on the brand, there may be varying amounts of hormones (or even different hormones, if you have the tri-phasic sort) in said pills, generally making only the third week suitable for off-label, cobbled together, EMERGENCY emergency birth control. Which you still might want directions from your doctor to use. Thanks for clarifying that. I wasn’t entirely sure. There’s an excerpt on my site: http://standardmischief.com/2005/11/09/forcing-pharmacists-to-dispense-drugs-emergency-contraceptive/ that links to Planned Parenthood’s page giving the proper dosage of what colored pills. Yes, talking to a doctor or a pharmacist first sounds like a really good idea. Either take notes, or spring for the Plan B if needed. I’m not sure if the $40-60 price quote was for a thirty or a ninety day supply. Still, you ought to be able to get what you need, if the only store you can manage to get to is one of them 44 Wal-marts and can’t manage to swing to those it to those 300 or so CVS stores. Just ask you doctor for the right way to phrase the prescription. (and I’m glad to see once you are “blessed” your comments appear right away)
My definition of “free market” pretty much matches the one in Wikipedia. What’s yours? Well, mine would be one where uses of an approved drug aren’t totally restricted to the specific purpose it got FDA approval for, but heck, what do I know? I’m not an econ major. Maybe in econ geek terms a market in which no one will let me buy birth control pills to skip my period is a free one. Seriously, prescription drugs are only a semi-free market; they’re subject to various government regulations depending on the drug. Some of this is actually useful (I really don’t want to speed the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria by having all antibiotics freely available OTC). Some of it (like the business where Plan B is not allowed to be over the counter) isn’t.
Christopher Says:I personally know people who can’t afford to blow an extra $40. Boo-Hoo. Planned Parenthood and other groups charge fees in a sliding scale for this reason. And hey, what’s up with the comments? Bye.