The Walgreens pharmacy in the East 54 community in Chapel Hill hosted an atypical visitor on Wednesday morning: North Carolina’s governor.
Gov. Roy Cooper joined several state health officials and Walgreens representatives to make an announcement of a new benefit through North Carolina’s recently expanded Medicaid program. Starting on Thursday, the state will cover the daily birth control Opill — the first over-the-counter oral contraception approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — for its enrollees when gotten through participating pharmacies.
“Family planning is such an important part of public health: being able to decide when you want to have children is an important part of having a thriving family,” Cooper said at the store. “When you think about a lot of people who are working, we want them to continue seeing doctors and having health insurance — now they’re able to do that — but sometimes, it’s difficult to get prescriptions for birth control pills.
“This gives people,” he continued, “the reproductive freedom and family planning options that they need. And we’re grateful, starting [Thursday], to make this part of Medicaid coverage, which overall is going to make families healthier across North Carolina.”
State Health Director and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Elizabeth Cuervo Tilson said more than 330 pharmacies across 92 counties provide contraceptive services to Medicaid enrollees through a program launched in January. With much attention around reproductive rights and women’s healthcare in recent years, she said daily birth control options are critical for people to easily access — especially in the state’s rural areas, where doctors may be sparse.
“In North Carolina, more than 50 percent of our pregnancies are unintended,” Tilson said. “We know that with unintended pregnancies, there can be an increased risk of outcomes to our moms and to our babies. So, by increasing access to contraception, we can improve maternal and infant health — and we can also make sure people have the tools and resources they need to make the [best] decision for them of what’s the right time to be a parent. These are really critical components in our priority of improving child and family wellbeing.”
Dr. Elizabeth Cuervo Tilson, the state health director and chief medical officer for North Carolina, speaks during the announcement press conference on Wednesday, July 31 2024.
The benefit of a drug like Opill, which began hitting shelfs in pharmacies like Walgreens earlier this year, is no prescription is needed. According to Angela Smith, that could save some important time compared to getting doctor’s appointments and receiving a regular prescription. The director of pharmacy and ancillary services for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said the “effort and investment” into women’s and family health is demonstrated by how simple it will be for an enrollee to buy the daily contraceptive.
“She can walk into the pharmacy and pick up Opill off the shelf,” said Smith, “take it to the pharmacist, and the pharmacist will run the claim through to bill Medicaid. And there’s no copay. Unlike other medications that Medicaid covers, we don’t need a prescription, the pharmacist doesn’t need to operate under a clinical protocol, and there’s no worry of the out of pocket cost.
“Essentially, within a few minutes,” she concluded, “[the person] can walk in and walk out with up to the three months of oral contraceptive pills at no cost. That’s especially important when a Medicaid member needs access to contraception today.”
Rena Gravley, who is the regional healthcare director for the local Walgreens locations, said staff at the chain pharmacy have been working hard to prepare for August 1 and this service update. She asked for customers to be patience as they smooth out the final steps of the rollout.
“This is really an example,” Gravley added, “of the role that pharmacists, at Walgreens and across the state of North Carolina, can play in providing timely and comprehensive care for patients. It’s beyond just dispensing medication — it’s an example where they’re able to build relationships, offer counseling and education for contraception and other preventative services.”
Since expanding Medicaid in December to encompass people with higher incomes, North Carolina has added more than 513,000 people to the service, surpassing the half-million signups mark earlier in July.
Pharmacies participating in the state’s pharmacy-initiative contraceptive services partnership — which includes over-the-counter Opill — can be found using this website.
Governor Roy Cooper speaks during a press availability over the announcement of Medicaid covering over-the-counter contraceptives.
Cooper on VP Consideration, UNC Leadership
Wednesday’s press availability was one of the first for North Carolina’s governor since Cooper shared a statement Tuesday saying he was removing himself from consideration to be the vice presidential candidate with Kamala Harris’ campaign.
“At this time, it was not right for me or my state to do this,” the Democratic governor said, reiterating the phrasing shared Tuesday night and Wednesday with media. “I know personally all of the governors under consideration, but any one of the people who are under consideration would be magnificent on the campaign and as a governing partner.”
Cooper added that he “strongly” supports Harris’ campaign for president and believes she could win the state of North Carolina — comparing the excitement around her presumptive nomination in the wake of President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race as reminiscent to 2008 when Barack Obama won North Carolina en route to the presidency.
Wednesday also marked Cooper’s first public return to Chapel Hill after attending the Manchester City vs. Celtic F.C. soccer friendly the week prior. The governor, who is a UNC alumnus, was asked about how he believes the university is doing and the leadership of interim chancellor Lee Roberts.
“In my conversations with Chancellor Roberts, I know he cares deeply about the university,” said Cooper. “Obviously, there are a lot of things happening right now that I have concerns [about on] university governing. In fact, I’ve assembled a task force to make recommendations on how we ought to change that to provide the Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees look like the people they serve and protect. There needs to be more diversity, political diversity in the governor leadership.
“There’s now a chancellor search going on right now,” he added, “and I trust they’re going to work very hard to get the very best chancellor that they can for this university, which I love so much. It will always be a part of me.”
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