Over-the-Counter Access
What Consumers Need to Know about Getting Plan Bฎ (Emergency Contraception) Without a Prescription
Plan Bฎ (Emergency Contraception or EC) is:
A type of birth control pill that you can take to prevent pregnancy after sex
Sometimes called the "morning-after" pill
Safe and effective. It is more effective the sooner you use it.
Plan B is NOT:
Plan B should not take the place of other types of birth control like "the pill," condoms, the birth control shot, etc. Plan B is about 89% effective.
Plan B is NOT the abortion pill or RU-486. It will not work if you are already pregnant. It will not hurt your body or your pregnancy if you took it before you knew you were pregnant.
Plan B will NOT protect you against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV/AIDS. Use condoms every time you have sex to protect yourself against STDs and HIV/AIDS.
Where can I get EC?
Women ages 18 and older with ID: Women ages 18 and older can buy Plan B without a prescription from your pharmacist. Go to the pharmacy counter at your local drug store. From a doctor or health care provider. Go to online or call 617-624-6060 (M-F, 9-5) for a list of family planning clinics in Massachusetts. Women under 18 or women without ID: From a specially trained pharmacist participating in the EC pharmacy access program. Visit the Mass EC Network for a list of participating pharmacies. From a doctor or health care provider. Go online or call 617-624-6060 (M-F, 9-5) for a list of family planning clinics in Massachusetts. Teens in Massachusetts are guaranteed confidential, low-cost family planning services, including EC. Men: Men ages 18 and older can buy Plan B without a prescription from their pharmacist. Men under 18 can NOT get a prescription for Plan B, even through pharmacy access.
Will Plan B be on the shelf with other over-the-counter products, like condoms?
No. Plan B will be kept behind the pharmacist counter. You will need to show ID to prove you are over 18 to get Plan B.
How much does EC cost? Plan B currently costs from $20-$50 as a prescription product. The price for Plan B over-the-counter has not been decided and may vary at different pharmacies. MassHealth will help pay for Plan B, but only if you buy it with a prescription from a doctor or specially trained pharmacist. If you have other insurance, ask your pharmacist if your insurance company will help pay for Plan B.
What does over-the-counter mean? Over-the-counter means that you can buy Plan B from a pharmacy without a prescription. The FDA has decided that it is safe enough to use without talking to a doctor or health care provider first. In this case, the FDA decided to make Plan B available over-the-counter only to women and men ages 18 and older. You will need to show ID at the pharmacist counter to get Plan B.
What is the Massachusetts pharmacy access law and how is it different from over-the-counter access? The Massachusetts pharmacy access law allows specially trained pharmacists to decide if Plan B is right for a particular woman. She does not need to visit her doctor or health care provider first, but Plan B will be provided as a prescription product. For a list of participating pharmacies in Massachusetts, visit the Mass EC Network. Over-the-counter access allows all women and men ages 18 and older to buy Plan B without a prescription. Women who are unable to buy Plan B over-the-counter can still benefit from pharmacy access to Plan B.
Is Plan B safe for teens under 18? Yes. Plan B is safe for women of all ages. Research shows that easier access to Plan B does NOT increase sexual risk-taking and does NOT reduce the use of regular on-going birth control.
If you were raped or forced to have sex, you can call the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center at 1-800-841-8371 (English) or Llamanos Y Hablemos at 1-800-223-5001 (Spanish) for help.
Adapted in part from the Pharmacy Access Partnership. | 
