Birth control pill delivery start-up Pill Club launched a public complaint against CVS Caremark on Thursday over alleged payment demands from the pharmacy chain.
Pill Club claimed that CVS Caremark, the prescription benefit management service for CVS, was trying to cut the amount they paid the start-up to deliver birth control to Caremark customers.
“CVS, don’t take away access to birth control,” a plea on the Pill Club website said on Thursday. “Tens of thousands of women with CVS/Caremark pharmacy coverage could lose much-needed service through Pill Club … CVS Caremark’s proposed payment changes threaten Pill Club’s ability to serve members.”
The website posting soon went viral on Twitter, along with hashtags #CVSDeniesCare and #BoycottCVS. Pro-abortion activists also weighed in on the perceived threat to birth control access. “Learned this morning that CVS Caremark is cutting reimbursement rates for mail order birth control pills, making it more expensive and potentially out of reach for tens of thousands of women who for many reasons cannot get to the pharmacy every month,” tweeted president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, Ilyse Hogue.
“Women need birth control delivered for many reasons–physical challenges getting to the pharmacy, living in very rural areas, simple privacy concerns, or something else-it really doesn’t matter. What matters is that they should not be financially punished by CVS,” she continued.
Women need birth control delivered for many reasons–physical challenges getting to the pharmacy, living in very rural areas, simple privacy concerns, or something else-it really doesn’t matter. What matters is that they should not be financially punished by CVS. #CVSDeniesCare
— ilyse hogue (@ilyseh) August 15, 2019
A statement from CVS described Pill Club’s claims as “extremely misleading.” “We are committed to providing access to women’s health care and it is irresponsible for Pill Club to suggest otherwise in an effort to maximize their profits at the expense of our PBM clients,” the statement said.
