Following FDA Approval of Opill Birth Control, Senators Call on Defense Department to Remove Barriers to Accessing Essential Health Care

Washington (October 24, 2023) — Senator Markey (D-Mass.) joined Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who led 29 of their senate colleagues, in a letter urging the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to ensure over-the-counter birth control is available for service members and their families on military bases, without a copay and without a prescription. In July, the Food and Drug Administration approved Opill as the first daily oral contraceptive available without a prescription.

“Access to contraception, as well as education about it, increases readiness and improves quality of life for our servicemembers and their families,” wrote the senators. “We write to urge the Department of Defense (DoD) to expand TRICARE coverage to include OTC contraceptives with no cost-sharing or prescription requirement. We also request the DoD stock OTC contraceptives in military treatment facilities, pharmacies, and exchanges.”

After the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, 40 percent of active duty service women face limited or no access to reproductive care where they are stationed. This poses serious challenges for the approximately 1.6 million women of reproductive age – including service members, retirees, and their families – who rely on the Military Health System to access essential health care. 

The senators call on DoD to make Opill available in medical facilities, retail stores, and pharmacies on military bases at no cost to servicemembers or dependents and without a prescription. They ask DoD to respond by the end of the month and to provide reasons in case the Pentagon is unable or unwilling to meet their call to expand access to reproductive care for people currently serving in uniform, military retirees, and their dependents.

In addition to Senators Markey, Bennet, Hirono, Duckworth, and Shaheen, Senators John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) signed the letter.

The text of the letter is available HERE.

###